Dark Destiny
by JettMann
Summary: As mysterious creatures converse and conspire, Jesse and Nuso move about to their business aboard the Cruiser, oblivious to the true nature of what they used to call friends.
1. Prologue

Prologue

* * *

As colonies fall one by one under the unrelenting might of the Covenant armada, the UNSC finally gave up holding to their defensive ways. In one bold move they assembled a sizable fleet of Prowler stealth vessels and made a jump into Covenant space. The hundreds of ships rained deadly marines down onto the different planets, thoughnot all contained Covenant troops. The war had turned tables. As the brave soldiers fought the battles on each planet they discovered things that shocked them to the core.

Many planets held women and children of all races, civilians. But war was war and there were casualties in the fighting. One by one planets fell under this attack. The prophets, too obsessed with the destruction of the human race in the colonies, completely ignored these attacks. The stealth fleet saw surprisingly small losses and began to get bolder. They had conquered over a dozen worlds and had finally come to one that was notsparsely defended. All the others had had barely a squadron of Seraph fighters, but this one had three frigates.

The Prowlers were able to destroy the frigates without taking overwhelming losses and began to land troops on this world. But, unlike the others, this planet was occupied primarilyby the Sangheili. The most infamous of Covenant foot soldiers. As the fighting expanded over almost the whole planet, the marines finally began to see even-sided fighting. As losses began to stack up, they made one final push and forced the Sangheili resistance back into a single citadel fortress city. There, the marines laid siege for two whole months.

In a daring attack the marines broke through the defenses of the walls and entered the city.The marines fought hard, the voices of fighting carried far through the streets.

* * *

"Move Rogers move! Get onto that scaffolding!"

"Sniper!"

"Open up, let them have it!"

"Hah, I plugged him!"

"Get it off of me!"

"AAAAUUUUGGGHHH!"

"Grenade!"

* * *

The marines fired into windows, alleys and doorways. The Sangheili were getting more careful and had resorted to guerilla tactics. The static fighting moved through the streets and soon, civilian bodies began to appear. One Sangheili, a Zealot, the greatest sectof all Elite warriors, had moved his own family into a house and had blockaded the doors and windows in an attempt to protect his precious loved ones.

* * *

"Ulich, what are we going to do?"

"I don't know. I can't fight them out there. There are too many. The city is lost."

"If they find us, they will kill us."

"You think I don't know that? I watched two humans mercilessly slaughter Alomosee's family and I won't let that happen to mine."

"Haven't we slaughtered their women and children as well? Don't you think this might be retribution?"

"It was the will of the Prophets. As disgusting as that prospect might be."

"Of course it was their will."

"What does that mean Kisof?"

"You know what it means. You weren't thinking about your son when you went off to fight. You were thinking of your own honor."

"My mind had been full of thoughts of the glories of war."

"But not the horrors."

"... No."

A crunching sound came from the door and the metal whined.

"They're coming in. I can't fight them all. But I will anyway. Get Nuso out of here."

"Ulich, there is no way out."

"The upper floor's windows are only boarded over. Go!"

Kisof ran up the ramp to the upper floor and ran up to Nuso, their son. He was by Earth standards seventeen years of age. Young, but intelligent, but also headstrong. He would try to fight and he would lose.

* * *

"Nuso, come, we must hurry!"

"Where is father?"

"Come on!"

Gunfire could be heard coming from downstairs. Then the buzz of a plasma sword and plasma rifle fire. A roar came up, then silence. Nuso ran to the side of the ramp and looked down into the lower room. Ulich was on his knees, purple blood coating his hands. The marines were standing around him.

One put a shotgun to his head and pulled the trigger. Nuso watched as his father's skull disintegrated from the blast. His eyes widened and dozens of emotions flooded through his mind. A single tear rolled down his mandible and he tore up the ramp and grabbed his mother's hand.

* * *

"You were right, we must go!"

"Ulich..."

"Father gave his life for ours, mother, come!"

Kisof's eyes clouded with tears, but Nuso didn't relent as he hammer kicked the wooden boards over the window overlooking a rooftop. Nuso hopped down and caught his mother as she did the same. He was slightly over a foot taller than she was. As she was light as a feather to his developed muscles. A marine's face appeared in the window and he yelled down at the two Sangheili. Nuso ran to the edge of the building, but a bullet went through his foreleg and he collapsed right before he reached the safety of the drop.

"Nuso, no!"

"Mother, run!"

Four marines jumped down form the window and slammed Kisof to the ground. Nuso stared at them. Kisof tried to stand but they hit her on the back of the head with the butt of a gun. Nuso roared as he charged at them, pain or no. One produced a small object and it shot out two long cords. They hit him in the chest and pain shot through his body. He charged again but a second produced another small object and two more wires hit him. He slammed his forearm down on a marines head, crushing the helmet and killing the man instantly. A third set of cords hit him and he began to black out from the electricity coming through them. He collapsed and groggily looked up in time to see them shoot Kisof in the back of the head.

Darkness filled his vision and he fell into unconsciousness.


	2. Captive

Nuso felt himself being moved. He didn't know where he was. His head throbbed with pain and he felt burnt somehow. He was roughly dumped onto a cold floor and he collapsed. He felt hands grab his shoulders and prop him up. A fist slammed him in the stomach and he fell again, coughing.

"Alright alien. Here's the deal, you cooperate and there will be no more of that." A strange voice said.

Nuso looked up and saw the man who ha d spoken. He gathered as much strength as his weak body could muster and he jumped up. He landed on the man and wrapped his powerful hands around the marine's throat and squeezed. A sharp pain came from his back as another marine slammed the butt of his rifle into Nuso's backbone. He collapsed and two marines started kicking him. The third marine was coughing from his attack. A kick found his mandibles and two of themsnapped. Purple blood dripped onto the metal floor and blessed unconsciousness found him.

* * *

Nuso tried to open his eyes, but they were sluggish. He was still on the metal floor, but he felt much lighter, like the gravity was practically gone. His mouth burned with pain and he felt his mandibles, they were badly swollen. The bones were broken and had to be set. He breathed deep and quickly jerked the first back into place. He roared with pain and fell back to the ground. He braced himself and set the other.

The pain was intolerable and he slammed a fist into the wall, denting the metal. But soon, the pain subsided slightly. Nuso pushed the swollen mandibles against the cold metal. It felt good against his throbbing mouth. He felt his back; it was bruised very badly, but wasn't swollenthat much. One disc had been shifted slightly, but it wouldn't hurtto fix and he did so. He breathed in and out; the air had a strange tang to it, processed air. They were going through space.

He rubbed his hands; they tingled from the cold floor. His feet were numb and he could see his breath. After what seemed like forever a door in the wall opened and two marines walked in, armed with what his father had called "assault rifles." Deadly weapons that sould not be underestimated.

"Okay Elite, here's the deal. You're coming with us whether you like it or not. The good scientists back at ONI want to know what makes you tick. So we're heading back to good old colony soil, or so it seems. As itgoes our fleet has stonewalled yours. Oh I know you'll push through again, but just know we are fighting back."

The marine seemed smug in his position. Nuso didn't attack even though in his recovered state he could kill the man, but he didn't want to die.

"The deal is that you behave, and we give you food. You tell us what we want to know and you'll get food. That's all there is to it. We'll give you two days to get hungry."

Nuso couldn't believe two things. One they spoke his language, two they thought he actually knew something of importance! He didn't know anything!He knew he was going to get very hungry in the next few days.The marines walked out and closed the door. Nuso sat in the cot andrubbed his swollen mouth to pass some time. The cold had numbed it and now he might be able to relieve some swelling. Soon enoughhe began to get tired.

Therewere pieces of cloth on the cot and he pulled them up and unfolded them. It was better than what his father usually had him sleep on. His father had wanted him to be strong, and he was. But the blankets would keep him warm so he wouldn't get sick. And right now all he worried about was staying alive. He pulled the two blankets over him and encased himself in them like a cocoon. He soon began to feel warmer and it felt good. Soon he nodded off into blissfully sleep.

As soon as he was sound asleep two marines walked in and stared at him.

"This thing is no soldier, I'll tell you that."

"Look at it, it's just a kid."

"This isn't right. ONI is going to dissect it."

"What do you care, it's an Elite."

"It's still a living thing. And it's intelligent. It doesn't deserve to die like that."

"Oh yes it does, along with its whole race. Those things are monsters and that's it."

"No, it's not right and I'm sticking to that."

The other marine just shrugged his shoulders and walked out. The second stretched her arms and set herrifle down. She pulled a stool up and sat down next to the Elite's bunk. She looked at the swollen mandibles and gingerly touched them. Its skin was leathery, but warm. It felt like snake skin. She didn't know why but she felt sorry for this Elite. She banished the thoughts from her head, got up and left. She stopped in the hallway and rushed back, grabbed her rifle then proceeded.

* * *

Nuso blinked groggily. He slowly eased himself up and stretched his arms. His joints all popped and an icy feeling went through his body and he shivered. It made him feel more awake. Once he had gotten up the door opened and the marines came in. This time there was a female with the leader as he was sure the man was.

"Even though I said two days I changed my mind and came in anyway. I just want to see if you have anything to say."

Nuso looked up at the man, then at the two guards.

"If you think you will get any information from me you are sadly mistaken."

"We have methods if you won't cooperate."

"No, you don't understand. I won't tell you because I can't. I am not a soldier. I don't know anything. I'm just a juvenile."

"A kid huh? You all look the same to me."

"And the fact I'm the same height as you doesn't seem that odd to you? I grow a lot bigger."

The marine looked at Nuso closer.

"Come to think of it you do seem different. Well, it's too bad you don't know anything. You might get hungry after a while."

"So, no new deal?"

"Nope. No info, no food."

"Major..."

"Yes Corporal?"

The female seemed uneasy.

"Wouldn't you say that would be slightly, inhumane? ONI wants him in top shape."

"ONI can suck their boots for all I care."

The female lowered he head, ceasing her protest.

"I do know about my own people, but that's all."

"Well what can you tell me?"

"What do you want to know?"

"There is a lot I want to know."

"Be specific."

"Tell me how your people came to be in the Covenant."

"Ah, this I doknow. The Elites and the Prophets used to be mortal enemies. We warred for many, many years. But at some time we found a planet that on it was a temple. The temple contained tablets speaking of a great ring. The Prophets and the Elites then made a pact with one another. They would not fight ever again and resolved to find this ring and learn its secrets. Over time we found technology made by a race we call the Forerunners. The Prophets told us that they were gods and we should worship them. The Prophets also spoke of the rings as the first step towards the Great Journey."

"What is that?"

"The Great Journey is something I always hear warriors talking about, but I don't exactly know what it is. But I know that the great ring is the key to starting the Great Journey. After a while the Prophets took control and two other peoples joined our pact and we became the Covenant."

"How about why the Covenant wants humanity to die?"

"I don't know."

"Or what this Great Ring is?"

Nuso shook his head.

"Or even where it is?"

Nuso shook his head again.

"You've earned an MRE. Congrats. Next time see if you can have a little more to say than a history lesson."

"What is a MRE?"

"Food. Here."

The Major tossed Nuso a packet and then walked out. One guard followed but the female stayed behind and sat in a stool. Nuso used his teeth to open the packet and stared at its contents. He ate the tasteless bread and tore into the vacuum packed chicken meat. After about ten minutes he had gone through the whole thing.

"I've never seen anyone go through an MRE with that much zeal."

Nuso looked up at the female and she pointed to herself.

"Kathy."

"Ka-thy."

"What's your name?"

"Nuso Kerumee."

"Nice to meet you."

"Not really, you don't like me." Nuso said with a tactful grin.

"That's not true."

"None of you like me. I'm an Elite. None of your kind likes mine. We're enemies."

"That's because many of your people are trying to hurt mine."

"Because we are at war."

"Yes."

Nuso looked into her deep green eyes. His own teal colored eyes contrasted hers greatly. His thinner pupil was longer than her round one was. His eyes in general were larger. He was half a foot taller and likely a lot stronger. She had a different smell than the other two had. Just like any female should.

"What are you doing?"

"You are female?"

"Yes."

"You are different. Females of my people are not very different from males."

"Neither are we. We just look different."

Nuso nodded and turned to the wall.

"Where are you taking me?"

"A research colony."

"You want to know what makes me 'tick.'"

"I don't."

"Of course you do. I can smell curiosity coming from you. It is strong in you. Curiosity sometimes can be more hazardous than benefiting."

"Curiosity killed the cat."

"What is a 'cat'?"

"A cat is an animal we humans use for pets."

Nuso sat in the bunk, interested.

"What is a pet then?"

"It's an animal you keep in your home as a companion."

"Elites have no use for such creatures."

"I guess you don't."

"May I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

"Why are you here? Why are you treating me better than your peers are?"

"Because I think you deserve better treatment. They blame everything your people have done on you. You have done nothing."

"Other than attack your Major."

"Other than that. Look, it's been fun talking with you but I better leave before I get in trouble. We should be getting at where we're going in a few days."

"I can't wait."

"Sarcasm, from you? That's surprising."

"I'm full of surprises."

"I guess you are."

Kathy walked out and closed the cell door behind her. Nuso lay down in the bunk and thought about his mother and father. He felt himself getting overly emotional, but didn't stop himself. The tears came. He would always miss them. His father's strong charisma. His mother's simplicity. They were gone forever to him.

Now in the hands of the one race he could never have imagined. He knew they would kill him. He was young but he wasn't stupid. If they had killed his mother in cold blood than he knew he was next.

"Nothing to do in here. Better see if I can get more sleep, heal my body faster."

* * *

The Major watched through the camera screen as Nuso lay back down in the cot and pulled the covers over himself. He switched his attention from the screen to a communication panel and flipped the switch to open the channel.

"This is Major Richards calling ONI outpost six-one-six-five. We have a specimen ready for research and testing. Permission to enter surrounding space via slipspace?"

"Permission granted Major. Bring yourself in. What do you have for us?"

"A live Elite. And you'll love this. This one's just a kid."

"Excellent. You have done well Major."

"Just make sure that bonus finds its way to my salary."

"Don't worry Major. You'll get your money."

"I'd better. This entire freakin war has cut wages back so far I can't even buy toothpaste anymore."

"I'm sure. Six-one-six-five out."

"Scythe, out."


	3. Enlightened

The Prowler shot out of the slipspace portal and entered the restricted spatial territory. Well on its way to the outpost.

Nuso couldn't sleep at all so he just stared at the ceiling. Thinking about what he had told the Major. It was simple folklore about the Great Ring. The wars between the Prophets and the Elites were history. But it was a history very few knew. His own father had taught him instead of sending Nuso away to a religious school for the other Covenant races. His father had been a Zealot, a member of the highly trained veteran units that were famous for their use of the energy sword. Their gold armor had been very similar to that of a field marshal or fleet commander's, but it was for the simple reason of showing that they were high up in their respects.

Suddenly Nuso felt a jolt. He fell off the bunk and bumped his head on the wall. He rubbed the growing welt as he picked himself up. From what he could surmise they had exited slipspace. His father had taught him all about space travel, so he knew a lot about slipspace and other simple things. But he would have never imagined it to have such a sudden jolt. He pushed himself against his cell door and listened. Two guards were talking outside the door.

"So, what do you think they'll do with it?"

"How should I know? All those ONI creeps are so secretive."

"You think they'll take him apart?"

"They've done that with countless dead Elites. Why waste a live one?"

"That's true. Hey, I heard there is a Spartan on this research colony. Think we'll get to meet him?"

"Wow. I hope so. I want an autograph."

"Oh come on Rich, an autograph?"

"I want him to sign my assault rifle."

"Well, maybe. That's kinda weird though."

"This coming from the guy who wanted to paint pictures of his girlfriend on his breastplates."

"Oh shut up, that wasn't weird."

Nuso heard snickering, but then silence. The guards had left. He thought about what they had spoken about. A Spartan. What was a Spartan? From what he figured it was a man, a very famous man. Or possibly, infamous? Nuso didn't know, and it was hurting his head to think about it. He kept his ear on the cold door just in case anything came around.

Soon enough he heard footsteps coming. They stopped in front of his door and the lock unlatched. He pushed himself against the wall beside the door. Someone walked in and Nuso quickly tackled whoever it was and got his hands around its throat. It was the female marine from before. He quickly let go and jumped off. She pushed herself up and coughed.

"You have a good grip." She sputtered.

Nuso just stared at her.

"And to think the Major believes you won't be any more trouble."

"Why have you come?"

"News update. We're a lot closer to the outpost than we thought we were. Prowlers are much faster than bigger ships I'll tell you that. We're about forty-five minutes out from docking. From there we separate and never see each other again. I just wanted you to know that the treatment you've gotten here is light compared to what those ONI spooks will do to you. They're brutal."

"I can take it."

"I hope so. Just hope they don't have the Spartan beat some sense into you."

Nuso again said nothing.

"I am here to escort you to the docking station. From there we'll drop you off then return to the fighting."

"I see."

"Alright, let's move."

The female pointed an assault rifle at Nuso and he walked out the open door. Another guard outside motioned for him to follow and Nuso did. As they walked through the halls he began to feel heavier. He imagined that they had entered a planetary gravity well.

"Almost there."

They finally reached a large door. It opened, but right inside was a second door identical to the first.

"Once we dock that second door will open and you'll walk through a tunnel to the outpost. Then we leave. Inside."

Nuso stepped in and the first door closed. The small space was uncomfortable, but Nuso didn't complain. Besides, there was no one to complain to. After what seemed hours a heavy jolt rocked the ship. The second door hissed, then opened. A short tunnel or sorts was inside of it. He couldn't go back, the only way was forward. He gingerly stepped through the tunnel and out into a much larger space than on the Prowler. There were several black uniformed men, all armed with assault rifles. Two of them jumped Nuso and slammed metal rings onto his wrists. He tried to move them, but they were connected to each other.

"Alright, move it to cell four."

"This way Elite."

Nuso could do nothing but obey. They shoved him into a pitch black room and the door closed behind him, shutting out all light. It wasn't cold like it had been on the Prowler, but it might as well been. The darkness made Nuso extremely uneasy, and the binders on his wrists prevented him from raising his arms even to defend himself.

He felt downwards and slowly lowered himself to the floor. He closed his eyes and imagined the times when he and his parents had spent happier moments together, before the war. Soon, sleep found him and he welcomed it.

* * *

"So, what can you tell us?"

"It's an Elite, but it's a lot smaller than it should be."

"How so?"

"It's only six feet tall."

"That is small. Any DNA tests yet?"

"No blood sample."

"We'll get some blood, don't worry about that."

"Captain, you know how I feel about your methods."

"Doctor, you should keep your opinions to yourself. This is my command and I'll do as I see fit. We won't mistreat it."

"Good, because from what I can tell this thing isn't more than just a kid. It may be the perfect candidate."

"It may be. If the Spartans are just as strong as the Elites in their augmented states, just think of the possibilities."

"Shall I begin?"

"Of course."

* * *

Nuso opened his eyes when he heard a sound, footsteps through the metal. He closed his eyes and listened. Suddenly light came on around him. He kept his eyes closed to keep from being blinded from them. He slowly opened his eyes and stared at the four blurry figures in front of him. Three were the black uniformed soldiers, the forth though, was something he had never seen before. It was huge, maybe a foot taller than him and it was green. It was wearing some kind of armor and it looked dangerous.

"One-zero-one, restrain the prisoner."

"Yes sir."

The green armored one walked up and grabbed Nuso's binders. He lifted them up and held them against the wall. Nuso bided his time, waited for one to approach. One of them came close enough and he slammed both feet into the soldier's chest. The man was lifted into the air from the force of the blow. The green one hold steady even though Nuso had put all his weight into its hands. The other two guards pointed small silver weapons at him and Nuso lowered his head.

"Keep that up and you won't survive long enough to get your next meal."

The soldiers attached binders to Nuso's ankles and neck and strung chains through them all. His movement was severely restricted. Even then the green armored human was behind him and would prevent any type of hostility. Soon they came to a room with a metal table on it. There were binders built in at the middle and end. The green one literally lifted Nuso up off the ground and shoved him onto the table. The soldiers removed the smaller binders from his wrists and ankles and set them in the much larger restraints built into the table. They removed the chains and the neck binder and wrapped a restraint around his neck too. He was unable to move.

"One-zero-one, stay here and watch the prisoner. The scientists will be down shortly."

The green one nodded his head and stood stiffly as the others left the room. Nuso could do nothing but stare up at the ceiling. It was white and had lights shining down from it. After a few minutes footsteps entered the room and several white clothed humans were staring down on him.

"This is unbelievable. First live Elite ever captured and we get to do the work. Okay, let's get started. I want a blood sample first. Set up the IV and get all the equipment ready."

A slight twinge of pain went into Nuso's arm, but he ignored it. The human who took the sample looked at the vial of purple liquid. A sharp sting came into his forearm and Nuso grunted. But it quickly subsided and he felt drowsy. Darkness began to swirl around him and the lights were getting dimmer. He blinked twice, then closed his eyes.

"Okay people. Get the x-rays set up. I want biomonitors of all kinds. Let's get this all wrapped up so we can start."

Soon they had heart monitors, EKG readers and other machines attached to Nuso. The scientists worked for almost half an hour before finally sitting down and going over their findings.

* * *

"Okay boys, here's what we've learned so far from our first live Elite. For one, from the blood samples we took we have made a comparison of ours and theirs. Our blood is based on iron, that's why it's red. Their blood is based on a mixture of iron, magnesium, mercury and a fourth element which we couldn't identify."

"So you're saying you light a match and set on a pool of its blood and poof, instant explosion?"

"It isn't flammable. We already tried. From what we can tell the fourth element is energy absorbent and it practically eats the fire."

"That's strange."

"It's not the half of it. The Elite's metabolism is over eight times that of a normal human's. But it onlyrequiresthe same amount offood. We don't understand how this is."

"I can answer that question. Like he had said the fourth element is energy absorbent. It absorbs most types of energy and converts it to the body. That is why we believe the Elites have such greater strength than we do."

"That, and the normal body temperature for the Elite is one hundred and fifteen degrees Fahrenheit. This might also be a factor."

"Thank you all for these contributions. But the final boost in the metabolism is this. All living things have a low level electrical current in their body. Ours is our nervous system. Our normal charge is very low level, nothing special. The Elite has a body chargeat minimum isten times as strong as ours. You come in contact with bare nerves that are still transmitting and you'll get a rather painful shock. All these factors mixed together would most certainly give the Elite all the energy his body needed."

"As we have found by studying the muscle tissue we estimated that it is a little over seven to eight times denser than ours. It is also much more extensively intertwined with its nervous system. These Elite's have reflexes that are equal to a Spartan's."

"So, they are the perfect soldier. Strong, fast, agile, deadly. Should we proceed?"

"We'll need to bring in a team."

"It's already on its way."

"Then let's get ready."

"Hold on, what is happening? Why wasn't I informed of anything like this?"

"Everyone. We are going to make this Elite one of us."

The scientists looked at one another in confusion.

"Oh, sorry. Let me clarify. We are going to have this Elite work for us."

"How?"

"Same way with the Spartan Twos."

"You're joking."

"No, I'm not. Combat training, schooling, everything it needs to be the perfect assassin. Then, possibly, augmentation."


	4. Destiny Revealed

Nuso slowly opened his eyes. He was so tired, and his head hurt. But he was awake anyway.

"Doctor, he's awake!"

"Good, good, let me see."

He felt soft hands on his head, then his neck. He didn't fight, he couldn't. He could barely move. Then he remembered why, he was restrained.

"He's a perfect specimen Doctor Reese."

"Yes he is. I've never seen a live Elite in real life before. You can't imagine what a thrill this is."

"Oh I can imagine. The wealth of knowledge we've already gained from this live one. As far as we know whenever an Elite dies somehow its blood neutralizes itself with some kind of natural solvent."

"Why?"

"It has something to do with its nervous system. The real reason, we don't know. But that's why we've never gotten a full blood sample from one. What we always got was only the cells, never any of the actual blood. All of the body's true functions we've never known till now."

"I'm sure you've been like a kid at Christmas, Doctor."

"Oh I have. By the way, what do you have planned for him?"

"That's classified confidential."

"I figured as much."

"ONI has sanctioned us to use this facility and planet for our work."

"I also see you brought another Spartan."

"I think they disappeared."

"When one Spartan gets together with another they always disappear."

Doctor Reese laughed as she continued to examine Nuso. He felt uncomfortable with it, but was content that he couldn't help it even if he tried.

"So, how is life treating you Doctor O'Brian?"

"Please, I've told you before to call me Neal."

"Alright, Neal."

"Well, I've been working here for about three months. One more month and I can go back home to my wife."

"I'm happy for you. I just got married two months ago. My husband is off doing some thing with the Navy. He's a Captain you know."

"Kudos toyouDoctor."

"Call me Amber."

"Alright, fair enough."

Doctor Reese finally put away her tools and sat down next to Nuso on a stool. She stared at him with great interest.

"I always imagined Elites as more canine-like. Not reptilian."

"They're not reptilian."

"Well, the skin gives it a snake-like look and feel. The thin, tall body. You get my meaning."

"Yeah. Its skin is very leathery. It has the same textural density as Kevlar."

"Wow."

"Trust me on saying these guys are full of surprises."

Nuso opened his eyes and stared right at Doctor Reese. She yelped as he had startled her.

"Where is his other eye looking?"

"Forwards."

"So, they have independent eyes, amazing. Like a chameleon."

"Only they have a much more intricate eye structure. The iris is in fact the lens. It's thicker, but sharper. I would say they have eyesight equal to a hawk's. The lens has segmented layers as well. They see primarily in the visible light spectrum, but they also have a foot in both infrared and UV light spectrums."

"How is that possible?"

"I don't know. But I would have to say their eyes are amazing in the daytime, and even better at night."

"So almost everything we knew about these guys is getting overwritten?"

"You better believe it. And there could be so much more than that."

"Um, doctor, how long has it been since this Elite has eaten?"

"I don't know. Since it was on the ship fifteen hours ago?"

"In the hands of marines? You think they fed it?"

"I'll go see if I can get something."

Doctor O'Brian left quickly. Doctor Reese went over to the sink and pulled out a plastic cup. She filled it with water and walked back to the table.

"Thirsty?"

The Elite didn't respond.

"Um, hello? Are you awake?"

Still no answer.

"Well, if you promise not hurt me I'll undo your neck and arm restraints so you can drink this."

Nuso finally nodded his head and the woman smiled.

"There, you see. You can be reasonable."

As Doctor Reese undid his neck restraint he felt a little light headed as blood flowed more freely, giving a tingling feeling. As she undid his right arm he rubbed his neck and took the water. He quickly drank it down and laid back.

"That was fast. Well, I guess now is the best time. My name is Doctor Amber Reese. I'll be your supervisor. You ever have questions or anything just ask me."

"Why am I here?"

"... Well, that is a hard question to answer right now. You'll be taken care of. I advise you get comfortable though. It is very likely we'll be the only people you'll be seeing for a very long time. I want to be your friend so we can work better together. Can you tell me about yourself?"

"Like what?"

"Do you have a name?"

"Nuso."

"Nuso? I like it. You may call me Dr. Reese. We've all wondered, how old are you?"

"I am ten high revolutions of age."

"I don't know what that is."

"Then what do you use as a medium for recording time?"

"Our planet rotating around our sun. Each rotation is a year. Our planet spins on an axis. Each spin is one day. There are three hundred and sixty-five days in one year. We record the days in months, there are twelve months in a year."

Nuso thought for a few moments.

"By days you mean day and night? How about more precise timing?"

"Well, there are twenty-four hours in a day. There are sixty minutes in an hour. There are sixty seconds in a minute."

"What is a second?"

"Here, let me show you. See this, it's a time recorder. We call them 'watches.' See that tiny rod, each time it moves it means one second has gone by. When it goes around in a full circle that means one minute has gone by. Once that rod has gone around in a full circle, that means an hour has gone by. That much smaller rod goes in a full circle meaning twelve hours have gone by."

Nuso began to think again. He seemed deep in thought for about three minutes before looking up.

"I am seventeen years, four months, eighteen days, five hours, forty-two minutes and seventeen seconds old. Eighteen, nineteen..."

"Okay, okay, you don't need to list off the seconds for me."

Doctor Reese suddenly blinked, he had calculated that all in his head.

"That was good. You've already learned our time."

"It was simple. Our timing records are much more complicated and precise."

"I see. Well here's another question for you. Can you calculate how old your mother is?" Reese tested him.

Nuso stared at her for a second with an odd look. But he complied and started thinking. After a little over thirty seconds he looked up.

"My mother was thirty-one years, eleven months, twenty-five days, six hours, seven minutes and forty-three seconds old when she died."

Doctor Reese did a double-take on the little quiz.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know."

"It is alright.My father taught me to accept loss. My father did not believe in the Great Journey, him and most of the Zealots. They were the best. They had their own beliefs and the inwardly despised the Prophets for forcing the false religon on them. They led a small underground resistance for a time, but finally gave up on it and just pretended to belief in the Great Journey. But in secret continuing with their own beliefs."

"That's amazing."

"Yes, it is. It almost seems unbelievable. But we are very few, and any caught who have forsaken the Great Journey are executed."

"Brutal."

"You will find the Prophets are quite brutal and merciless. I don't know much about them, only the stories my father tells me. But I don't like them."

"Is your father dead as well?"

"Yes."

"I'm sorry."

"It wasn't your fault. He died protecting me and my mother, much good it did her though."

"How?"

"The attacking soldiers. They stormed our hiding spot and killed my father. My mother and I were trapped and I tried to protect her. They hit me with something that knocked me out. I went unconscious just in time to watch them shoot her in cold blood."

Dr. Reese just stared at Nuso with wide eyes.

"That's, terrible."

"No Doctor, that's war. When the unarmed get in the way of the armed, we die."

"But in cold blood?"

"I do believe the soldiers that attacked had some kind of vendetta. I think they all do."

"Ever since Reach..." Reese said, her voice trailing off.

"I don't understand."

"All in time Nuso, all in time. Ah, here's some food. Put it there, would you Neal? Thank you."

"Hey, he's out of his restraints."

"Not all the way, and we've been having quite the conversation."

"You humans ask many questions."

O'Brian looked dumbfounded but shrugged.

"They want you up in the command module."

"I have to go Nuso. We have to put you back in the restraints. Lie back please."

Nuso obeyed and he felt the tight binds go around his neck and wrist. He sighed and did his best to fall asleep. It was easy, the drug they had put in him must still have some affect in him.

* * *

"So what exactly do we have planned for the Elite?" 

"Combat training, field exercises. Essentially basic training before we get into the real stuff. Extensive stealth and espionage training. Infiltration, exfiltration and incognito missions."

"Basically, we're training a spy?"

"No, basically we're training an assassin. But yes, a spy is another word for it."

"And this will take how long?"

"It all depends. Maybe a year, maybe a little longer."

"Do we have a year?"

"The Covenant has backed off for the time being. They're licking their wounds from the destruction of Halo. Since you all have the proper clearance, I'm sure you already know about that. We have until they restart their offensive to get this guy in top condition. We've even been authorized to augment him just like a Spartan."

"An Elite Spartan Two... Have you gone off the deep end?"

"It trusts me. It's young and I think this will work."

"I agree with Reese. Besides we're the ones who sign your checks. Get working."

"You heard the Colonel."

Dr. Reese took one look at the control room, then walked out the door. Unsure of what exactly she was about to get herself into. Just like her colleague Halsey had.


	5. Chain of Command

Nuso opened his eyes, he jumped up quickly, his restraints were gone. The room was dark except for the door, which was open. A distant light was coming through it. He groped around in the dark till he found a metal table. He broke one of the legs off and made himself an impromptu club. He stared down the hallway. Each side was lined with other halls and doors. As he walked slowly down it he checked each door. They were all locked. The hallways seemed to be dead ends other than one. It snaked slightly till it reached a tiny box-like room.

Nuso looked around and saw a control panel with two buttons on it. One had an arrow pointing up, one had an arrow pointing down. He pushed the up button, but a small screen displayed a large green X. He tried the other button and grabbed themetal pole on the sideas his stomach felt like it was going into his mouth. As his grip tightened the pole came off the wall in his hand.

The falling feeling quickly subsided as the elevator slowed and finally stopped. The doors opened and he looked into the new building. This one had dark green walls, unlike the white sides of the previous building. There was a clear door at the end of a corridor, and one of the doors was open. He could see light green grass outside. He broke into a run to get to it, but somethinglarge and ominousflashed in front of him and slammed him backwards.

Nuso shook his head and stared at the much larger figure of the Spartan. He made a quick swing with the metal pole, but the Spartan caught it and ripped it from Nuso's hands. The Spartan easy bent the pole in half and tossed it away. Nuso calmed himself and remembered what his father told him about fighting. The bigger they are, the harder they can be made to fall. The Spartan simply stood there in the center of the hallway, looking dangerous in the dark green armor they wore. Nuso breathed in, knowing he was about to get thrashed.

He held his mouth shut tightly as he ran forwards as fast as he could. The Spartan braced for the tackle, but it never came. Nuso slid right under the Spartan's legs! He hopped up and dashed for the door. The Spartan turned and ran after him, though at amuch faster pace. He quickly caught Nuso and tried for a grab, but only caught air. Nuso ducked under the Spartan's arms and did another slide, this timejumping onthe Spartan's back. He jumped up and grabbed its helmet in his strong hands. In one swift movement he pulled it off, breaking all the air seals. The Spartan's human face was very pale and had dark brown hair. His brown eyes seemed rather blank. He made a desperate grab for his helmet but Nuso lifted it up and slammed it down on the back of the Spartan's head. He did it again and again before he was certain it was out cold.

Nuso dropped the helmet and ran for the door again. This time he made it out. The fresh air smelled good, and for a moment he let his guard down. The other Spartan leapt down from the building's rooftop and landed behind Nuso. The Spartan wrapped its arms around Nuso's arms and chest and began to squeeze. As his air supply began to diminish Nuso got desperate and slammed the back of his head into the faceplate of the Spartan. He did it again and again until he heard a crack. The pressure instantly disappeared and Nuso kicked the Spartan's knee as hard as he could. His foot hurt and would likely bruise. The Spartan fell to the ground, but pushed itself up again.

The gold faceplate was cracked, but still intact. But right as it rose up to its full height, it saw a bluish fist slam into its faceplate. This time the blow broke through and Nuso felt his fist connect with flesh. The only problem was the broken faceplate had cut the back of his hand pretty badly. He pulled his bleeding hand back and waited for the counter, it didn't come. The Spartan only stood there. Nuso stared into the hole in the helmet. The human's eyes were closed. He had knocked it out. The armor must have locked up when hepunched its lights out. He looked at the Spartan's belt and pulled what looked like a weapon out and took a small brown ball. The ball had a tiny metal ring on it. Nuso was tempted to pull on it, but had heard about what these things did when the 'pin' was pulled out.

As he ran along the grass Nuso heard a rumble coming from behind him. In a matter of seconds three medium sized vehicles surrounded him. Each one had a human in the back manning very deadly looking weapons that were attached to the vehicle.

"Hands up! Drop the pistol and put your hands up!"

Nuso slowly put the pistol on the ground, hiding his other hand behind him. His other hand held the grenade. He slowly edged his finger through the pin and snapped it out. He raised his right hand, then pulled his left back and chucked the grenade between two of the vehicles. The explosion was so loud that Nuso's ears rang. The concussive force of the blast had blown the vehicles over. And one of them had been thrown into the third and knocked it over. Nuso was about to run when several marines picked themselves up from the wreckage and pointed assault rifles at him.

"Freeze! Don't move!"

Nuso, now weaponless and no match for the marine weapons, raised his hands.

"We have orders to escort you back to the orbiter facility. Resist and we will shoot."

Nuso looked back at the small building he had come out of. It had other buildings branching off of it, some of them quite large. But there was a some form of tube going up above the clouds. The elevator he had come down in must lead to space.

* * *

"There Colonel, you see. He beat both Spartans and took out three Warthogs."

"I don't get it. How can an Elite beat two Spartans. I've seen a single Spartan take out an entire battalion of Covenant troops and one Elite does in two?"

"Take into mind he is smaller and much more agile than his armored comrades."

"Duly noted. So he didn't just pass this test, he aced it in the hole."

"I would say he is good for the training. Let's get everything set up."

* * *

Nuso was escorted back up the elevator to the station in low orbit. He was roughly pushed into a chair and handcuffed to it. Dr. Reese and several others came into the room and sat in front of him.

"Nuso. We watched you as you attempted to escape. It was all a test. We were testing to see how you reacted in that situation. You passed."

"I figured as much. It was too easy."

"Here's the bad news, for you at least. It will turn good in the future, don't worry though. From here and now you are property of the UNSC and affiliates. You will be trained by the best, taught by the brightest, and instructed by the most skilled our military can offer. You will become what we have designated Spartan-X. A deadly weapon of unparalleled effectiveness loyalty. From here on your old life is over. You work for us now. You no longer exist except to us."

Nuso felt a lump in his stomach. But he was not afraid.

"When do I begin?"

"We start now."

* * *

Dr. Reese stood in an elevated observation room and watched as Nuso sat in the middle of the training dojo. It had been a whole week since they had told Nuso about the project, and he seemed to be taking it all in stride.

Since they had moved the project to the much more effective facilities on the planet things had been going smoothly. The trainers, instructors and other crewmembers of the project would arrive within the day, and Nuso seemed almost anxious. He was more concerned about survival than anything else. And it proved to be an effective control device.

He had been in the same sittingposition for six hours, he hadn't moved a muscle. Down in the dojo Spartan One-zero-one, or Jesse, watched Nuso in his odd position. Without his MJOLNIR armor Jesse looked much smaller; even though he was still very tall, he seemed lean, but rock-hard muscle bulged slightly from his long arms.

He had been doing different Tae Kwon Do forms for the past three hours and had finally gotten tired and sat down. He stared at Nuso. The Elite was rather lanky, tall and thin. But his body contained muscles that could turn any human inside-out.

Jesse continually went over his engagement with Nuso in the elevator lobby many times in his head. Somehow the Elite had gotten his helmet off and beaten him senseless with it. He had to have it replaced; the air seals had been completely destroyed and could not be repaired. He finally got fed up with waiting and went outside. He picked up a rock and tossed it up and down as he walked back inside. He pulled his arm back and launched the rock at Nuso's forehead. In a blur of movement the Elite caught the rock in his hand and held it there.

"You had your eyes closed. How did you know?"

"I could hear it."

"You're telling me you caught that by listening to it?"

"I didn't say that. I heard you exhale as you threw it. I calculated the velocity of the rock by the amount of force in your breath. I knew you would throw it at my head so I caught it right before it impacted my forehead. Simple."

"Simple? That would've taken me an hour to calculate all of that. What algorithm did you use?"

"Algorithm?"

"What procedure did you calculate the velocity with?"

"Distance between you and me. The amount of force in your lungs. The speed the projectile would reach at the apogee of the throw. And the spin it would take as it flew."

"Broken down into elements of the movement. That's something I never thought of doing."

"You didn't have a father obsessed with you learning the fundamentals of effective combat."

"Yeah, right."

Nuso opened his eyes. He had had many times before to speak with Jesse and they had become something like friends. Though Jesse still was rather uneasy being around Nuso, the feeling was rapidly disappearing the more they got to know each other.

"So I've heard you've been through something a lot like what I'm going to go through."

"Yep, though I was a lot younger and yours will likely be a little more, intense."

"What is it like?"

"Hard, rough, brutal at times, but worth it. I'm just a soldier. But I enjoy what I do."

Nuso made a strange movement with his mandibles which Jesse had interpreted as a smile.

"I guess I will be doing the same very soon."

"I just don't see how they can do it in a little over a year."

"We Elites learn at a very quick pace. Our memories are very precise. Once we learn something, we don't forget it. We don't need to practice very much either. Though the normal foot soldiers are what you would call a little brainwashed with all the fighting and the religious squalor. Zealots train their minds to be sharp. And the offspring of a Zealot inherit the mental keenness."

"Interesting. Well from what I can estimate you're a good fighter already."

"I know nothing of fighting. I know the fundamentals of fighting. I know the mental combat, but nothing of physical warfare."

"You'll find that fighting in your head and fighting with your fists are almost one and the same."

"I will keep your word on that."

"Just borrow it, I might want it back."

Nuso blinked, then burst into deep laughter. Jesse grinned.

"I didn't know you as one to joke."

"Hey, a little laugh here and there never hurt anyone. I'm the most emotional Spartan you'll ever meet though."

Jesse got up and brushed himself off.

"Come on. Let's go for a walk."

"A walk?"

"I think better when I'm walking."

Nuso nodded and hopped up. His long legs made him look something like a frog getting up, and Jesse held back a snicker. When they walked out Nuso blinked in the bright sunlight. Jesse had placed colored glass rectangles over his eyes to shade them.

"What are those."

"Sunglasses. All Spartans have to wear them. Our eyes are very sensitive."

"I understand. The home star of this world is very bright." Nuso said looking straight at the sun for a moment.

"Hey, don't do that. You could hurt your eyes."

"Have no fear for me. Unlike humans my race comes from a planet with three stars. Our eyes are immune to the harmful rays of any heavenly body."

"How is that possible without barbequing your planet?"

"One is far away, and the other is small, orbiting the larger. The main star is a blue giant, the farthest, and largest, is a massive red star, and the smallest is white. The mixture of these three stars would cause damage to any human who stepped foot on our home planet. But we areimmune."

"Where is it?"

"Far from here. I don't know really. I was born there, but raised on the planet the marines found me on."

"Yeah, I figured as much."

Nuso ran his hand through a bush and plucked a flower.

"I have never seen such beauty. I grew up in a citadel. There were no plants there."

"Nature is a wonderful thing."

"But also destructive."

"Yeah, just like girls."

Nuso laughed again. Jesse was definitely warming up to him.

"What Jesse? Having problems?"

"Well, the other Spartan is a girl. 141, Karen. Second generation Spartan Two. I want to get to know her better cuz, man, she's one gorgeous girl. But I can't, it's against the rules."

"From what I've heard you are a one of a kind Spartan to think as you do."

"Hey, I'm one of a kind, period. I think independently. That and Aaron doesn't let me think like a machine. As the other Spartans do."

"Who is Aaron?"

"My personal AI assistant and somewhat of a friend. He's a state-of-the-art AI that unlike other smart AIs, isn't restricted to the seven year life span."

"Ah. What makes him special?"

"His memory banks are a new technology, just invented. It allows him to back up all his personality program files, preventing the destructive information loop. I'm sure you've run into that in your scouring of our databanks. Whether you were authorized or not."

"I found you data defense systems inadequate and easily bypassed."

"Aaron would've kept you out. He's one smart kid. He's programmed exactly like some punk sixteen year old teenager from the beginning of the twenty-first century. He's not very stylish but he's brilliant."

"Where is he?"

"In my MJOLNIR armor. He's probably messing with stuff that I'll have to fix when I get back if he doesn't repair it himself. He gets bored easily."

Nuso nodded thoughtfully. Then looked behind him as they continued down the trail.

"How long have you noticed him?" Jesse asked with a low whisper.

"Just now."

"He's been on our tail since we left the base. He knows what he's doing. Just follow my lead."

"Alright."

Jesse straightened up and stretched his arms.

"I gotta take a leak, stay here."

Nuso caught on quick.

"Alright, just don't take too long. Dr. Reese wants us back soon."

"Just wait for me."

Nuso rocked back and forth on his feet impatiently. He could smell the tracker coming closer. He had made the mistake of trailing upwind. Nuso walked over to a tree and held onto a branch. He heard the slightest of footsteps right behind him and he spun around, ripping the branch form the tree and swinging it with incredible force. A black clad human was behind him. Whoever it was ducked under the branch and went right under Nuso's arms and poked a small knife against his throat.

"You good fighter, yes. But you not good enough."

This human seemed to speak in a broken accent. It obviously didn't speak "English" very well.

"Who are you?"

"I am your new mentor and instructor. Whether you like it or not!"

"Let me rephrase the question. What are you?"

"I am what others call ninja. Another word is spy."

Nuso clicked his mandibles, the equivalent of raising an eyebrow. Right then he saw Jesse behind the smaller man about to tackle this "ninja." Right when Jesse made his move, the small man spun around and whacked the Spartan on the head with a stick.

"Make noise when you walk. This been real fight and you die."

"Not likely... That hurt."

"Good, make you think next time. Use tactics that willget you killed. Elites powerful warriors. They smell you from far away."

"You knew I could smell you coming?"

"I know. I fought Elites before. Made mistakes, was overconfident. Learned my lesson."

"So you must be one of the instructors."

"You are smart. Smarter than clumsy here."

"Hey!"

"You learn good stalking then you better Spartan. Till then you are stupid Spartan."

"Yeah, I get that a lot."

"Other instructors waiting. We all have different things to teach. Must introduce ourselves. Then the teaching begins."

"What do you bring to that goal than?"

"I teach you to be invisible. I teach you to not be there. Then you strike, and bam!" The small man used his hands to illustrate his words.

"What do I call you?"

"My name is Yugi. You call me Master Shosii. Or just Master. Address me otherwise and you learn quickly i don't like being disobeyed!"

"Very well. I have already had my fill of meeting odd people."

"I pretend you did not say that."

* * *

As they immerged from the forest path, Nuso looked over the four other humans. One was a marine with an unbelievably impressive tower of ribbons and medals. He took a step forward and put his hands on his hips. He had a stern look on his face, but didn't look threatening.

"You must be our new fodder. My name is Colonel Matthews. You will call me Colonel or sir. I am in charge at all times, period. I will be your primary military instructor and drill sergeant, even though I don't hold that grade. I will teach you how to be a good soldier."

Nuso just stared blankly at the man. This human wasn't even fazed by him, as most of the others had been.

"Hey, Colonel Matthews! Nuso, this guy was one of the men who trained me!"

"Spartan One-zero-one. Glad to see you son."

"Glad to see you sir!"

"Alright. Go make yourself useful, we have to brief our new toy soldier."

"Yes sir!"

And with that, Jesse was gone. Nuso stood at attention. He had learned the stance from watching the other marines do it and had gotten quite good at it.

"I will be your commander. You will obey ever order I give at all times. Disobedience will not be tolerated, period. Am I clear?"

"Crystal, sir."

"Good. Now I don't like you one bit. I never like any of my recruits and I let them know that. You're the first none-human soldier who has ever served in the UNSC. Frankly I'm rather insulted by all of this. But you prove yourself and you just might get on my good side. Though ask anyone and you'll learn that its a hard thing to do. Getting on my good side that is."

"I'll do my best, sir."

"You'd better. I'm done."

Shosii walked up and stood up to his full five foot eight height.

"You already met me. Nothing more to say."

A women walked up. She had a black uniform, just like some of the others he saw around the base. She was ONI, and frankly most of them scared Nuso somehow. But this woman was different.

"I am Lieutenant Commander Lauren Banks, diplomatic corps. I'll be your knowledge source. Anything you need to know about procedure, ask me. I'll teach you everything you'll need to know to talk your way through any situation. You'll learn human society and other customs from me, among other things. That is all."

Then, a dark skinned man walked up right into Nuso's face.

"My name is Sergeant Major Ryan Baxter. Navy SEALS second division. I'll be your weapons and melee combat instructor. I'll teach you everything you'll need to know about shooting every type of weapon the human race knows about, both foreign and terrestrial. I'll also teach you how to beat the living crap out of anything that gets in your face, like I am right now. I've seen what you can do. Decking two Spartans isn't something you see every day. But you better do your best with me or I'll kill you."

"I will sir."

"That's fine, just fine. Who's next?"

The final instructor walked up. He was lean and tall. He didn't look like a fighter, more like a scientist, but younger.

"My name is Gregory Robertson. I'm not military. I'm a computer technician of rare ability. I'll teach you how to slice any system, control any computer. I heard about you hacking through this base's systems. If you think that was hard, think again. This base has the weakest firewall known to man. I'll teach you how to outsmart AIs, any kind. I'll keep you savvy on every system I know of, both Covenant and human. I'm finished."

Colonel Matthews walked up to Nuso and stared right into his eyes.

"From this day forward, you belong to me. Go get some food and hit the bunk, we start tomorrow."

"Yes sir!"

Nuso turned and ran to the mess hall. Matthews watched him go and sighed.

"I never knew we would stoop low enough to use Elites as soldiers."

"You admit that it is genius though."

"Using the enemy against the enemy."

"He isn't the enemy. The enemy is the soldiers. He is just a kid."

"Did I ask your opinion commander?"

"No sir."

"I'll whip this Elite into the perfect soldier. We have one year. That's fine with me. I'll only need six months. The time it takes to put a freshie through basic."

"From what I have seen. It take me four months to teach him my ways. He will be best spy I have ever trained. Maybe even ninja. But that might be too much to ask. Yes, I say four months." Shosii stated in his brokenasian accent.

"I will take the longest teaching him ethics and diplomacy. I'd say ten months with the time taken out to teach the other fields."

"It takes a month tops to get this kid trigger happy. Three months to make him beat anything into pulp. Unless Yugi wants to teach him karate."

"I can teach him some. But it your job to teach him that. I only get paid to teach him to be a spy."

"What about you Robertson?"

"I don't know. The firewall he cracked would have taken me less time, but not by much. He knows what he's doing, but he isn't honed."

"So, let's all get ready. Get everything you need and set up your prospective fields. We start tomorrow."

* * *

Nuso was led to a barracks. He was given a bare room. It had a single bunk with sheets folded on top. He quickly had the bed ready to sleep on. In a matter of minutes he was asleep. His last thoughts before nodding off were, what was in store for him? 


	6. Basic Training

Nuso was sleeping soundly when an extremely loud noise jolted him awake. He looked out the window, it was still dark outside. He rubbed his eyes to try and get the sleep out. He was exhausted but he forced himself to stay awake. His door opened and a marine tossed him a set of grey clothes that were to his size and figure specifications.

"Put these on and go outside. The Colonel is waiting for you." The door closed but Nuso could still hear the marine crusing under his breath. "Can't believe they would recruit and Elite, of all things."

Nuso nodded and looked at the plain clothes. On the front of the shirt they had bold gold letters, 'UNSC.' On the back it had two rows. The top row said 'SPECIAL FORCES.' The bottom said 'BEST OF THE BEST.' It finally occurred to him what this base was. It was a training facility for thehuman special forces, or the elite units of their army.

After he had the clothes on he jogged outside. Colonel Matthews was standing in the light of a spotlight. He had a clipboard and a stopwatch.

"Alright freshie. Time for PT. See that path? It goes in a circle. It's four miles long. Run around that path four times and then stop here."

"Yes sir."

"And you better hurry it up. I don't have all day."

"I understand sir."

"Well, what are you waiting for?"

Nuso quickly popped all his joints and took off jogging at a steady pace. His body didn't tire as quickly as a humans, but this run would definitely wear him out. He slowly breathed and allowed his body to build up on reserve energy. After his first lap he was still going strong, but his legs and chest were beginning to burn. The burn only seemed to fuel him to go faster. After his second lap he was beginning to lose energy. He started to slow for a moment, but quickly tapped his reserve energy and he instantly went back to his steady pace. One his final lap his lungs were burning, not being able to get enough oxygen. His legs felt like they were made of heavy metal and his muscles were numb. On the last stretch he almost felt as if he would just collapse from the exhaustion.

'No, not yet. Keep going.'

Nuso pushed himself to keep going, and even upped his pace to a full sprint. He made it to the finish point and stopped. He was breathing hard. Colonel Matthews had been sitting in a chair with a small table in front of him with his breakfast on it.

"Hmm, let's see. One hour and twelve minutes. Impressive. My Spartans can do better. Now follow me."

Nuso took several deep breathes as he slowly replenished his energy reserves. The Colonel made his way to the interconnecting roads in the base. He pulled his chair out and sat down.

"Push-ups. See those marines over there? Watch them for a minute. See what they're doing? Start that. I'll tell you when to stop."

Nuso got down on his hands and feet and began to do the push-ups. He pushed himself up and went back up. Down and back up. This continued for a long time. His arms began to get sore and tired. After a while his pace began to slow.

"Alright. That's enough. Get up and stretch. You did three hundred and sixteen in thirty minutes. You'll need to work on that. Now, pull-ups. See what they're doing then do it."

Nuso watch for a few seconds then began the exercise. He held his shoulders and pulled up. After another thirty minutes of this the Colonel gave the okay to stop. Nuso noticed that the sun had come up. The warmth felt good on his face.

"Stretch then go get yourself cleaned up. Get some food then report to the training dojo for your next instructor's lesson. You have one hour till you have to be there. Don't be late. Take this watch. I had it made just for you so you can stay on track."

"Thank you sir."

"Don't thank me. You have only fifty-nine minutes left. Get moving!"

Nuso nodded then ran off to the barracks. He got onto the shower conveyer and let the cold water run down his skin. It felt good from his workout. After his shower he found a fresh set of black clothes on his bed. He pulled them on and ran to the mess hall. Inside the SFs were all talking and laughing and eating. But when he walked in, the room got silent. He got into the food line and followed them to the servers.

"What'll you have."

"Is it up to me?"

"Nope."

"Then just give me what I'm supposed to have."

"Here."

The server placed a piece of hard bread with a rather soggy eggs and burnt bacon. He grabbed a glass of vitamin water and sat alone and ate his food. Once he had started he saw Jesse in line. Jesse spotted Nuso and made his way to him once he had his food.

"Hey Nuso. How was your first PT?"

"Exhausting."

"Oh it gets worse. But you get tougher. Don't let the Colonel's tough exterior get to you. He's a great guy once he whips you into shape."

"I'm sure he is."

"Look. Don't let any of these guys in here get to you. They're all freshies, just like you."

"What are you doing here than?"

"I'm stationed here. Boring as it is."

"I see. Well I'd better finish, I only have twenty minutes to get to my next lesson."

"Alright. See you around."

* * *

Nuso made it to the training dojo with ten minutes to spare. Master Shosii was inside doing some kind of martial artsform. He moved very slowly, but also gracefully. When Nuso entered Shosii raised his hand, the Elite stopped.

"You must bow when you enter the Master's presence!"

Nuso bowed low, but kept his eyes on Shosii.

"Good. You must never look down. I will smack you if you look down! Always keep eyes up, better looking for danger that way. The ground not very threatening."

"Yes sir."

"I am not sir! I am Master Shosii!"

"Yes, Master."

"Good. I deserve respect, earned or not! When you get as old as me you demand respect too!"

"How old are you?"

"Forty-four!"

Nuso twisted his face in confusion. That wasn't very old.

"Now. Lesson. What first thing you think I teach you?"

"How to track effectively?"

"Wrong! I teach you how to fall!"

"What?"

Shosii grabbed Nuso's shirt and tossed him like a sack of potatoes right onto the dojo's padded floor.

"You fall wrong! When you get into fight you must fall correctly! This way you recover and get away for second attack. Spy must learn that the correct fall serves him better than fighting! Now, again!"

This lesson continued for two whole hours. And once it had finished Nuso was thoroughly bruised.

"Good, you fall correctly. Tomorrow I teach you how to fly."

"I can't wait."

"No sarcasm!" Shosii said, smacking the back of Nuso's head.

"Sorry Master."

"Always sorry. If you mean it than show it!"

* * *

Nuso walked back towards the barracks, rubbing the back of his head. He made it halfway when Matthews intercepted him.

"Sir."

"You're wondering where to go? Building three fourteen. The commander is waiting."

"No break sir?"

"I better not hear that ever come out of your mouth again. Soldiers don't take breaks. You take a break when your dead!"

"Sorry sir."

"You better be! Now get moving!"

Nuso quickly found the correct building and walked in. The room was empty other than the commander sitting down next to a chalkboard.

"Ah, welcome. You might be confused on how diplomacy would help you if your goal is to be as stealthy as possible. The opportunity might arise where you go undercover instead of stealth. I am going to teach you everything we know about the society of both sides. Human and Covenant. Take a seat and get ready to write notes. You'll be quizzed at the end of this class."

After three straight hours of absorbing knowledge Nuso's brain was fried. He rubbed his head after acing his test and got up. His legs were stiff from sitting still for so long. The commander smiled at him.

"Don't worry. You'll get used to it."

"Yes ma'am. Where to next ma'am?"

"Mess hall for chow. Three squares a day you know. You have forty-five minutes before you need to be at the gunnery range."

"Thank you ma'am. Been looking forward to gunnery training all day."

"HaveI been boring?"

"Er, no ma'am!"

"It's alright,I was joking with you. Go get your food."

Nuso practically ran to the mess hall. He was famished. The server was different this time. He nodded politely at the young man, who didn't return the gesture.

"What'll you have?"

"Whatever you put on my tray."

The server looked at him and shrugged. He piled three large, burnt sandwiches on his tray along with a bowl of soup and some crackers. Nuso grabbed water again instead of the other drink, which held far less nutrients. He sat it the same spot he had before and dug into his food. He finished quickly and went outside and watched the SFs in training drill. He listened to the cadence and soon had the entire concept memorized. His watch beeped and he gunned it quickly to the gunnery range.

* * *

"Sir, trainee Nuso Kerumeereporting."

"Alright. This is where the fun begins. I am here to teach you how to kill things. First things first. I've got you till supper so you just sit tight. I've got an hour class on weapon classification. Then another hour of the parts of a weapon. Then the fun part. Shooting the weapon correctly. After that we begin the basics of hand-to-hand combat."

Nuso sat through the weapon classes with great interest. He could soon identify the different weapons he was shown just by their different looks and configurations. After that he had taking apart and putting both a pistol and an assault rifle together down pat. Then he started to work on speed. He got faster at it. But the Sergeant Major was easily twice as fast.

"Keep working. I want you to be faster than me by the end of the week. Now, for the fun stuff. Take this MA5B and these ten magazines. Unload every single round into those targets. Unload the first magazine then I'll teach you how to shoot. Unload the second I'll teach you how to shoot accurately. Unload all but the last and I'll teach you how to shoot from entrenched positions. This will continue every day till I think you're ready to move up from the basics."

Nuso did as he was told. He learned how to fire the MA5B with pristine accuracy. Even though the Sergeant Major was a much better shot. He learned how aim while under the cover of a trench.Nuso began to get the hang of things when his assault rifle clicked. He reached for another magazine and found he had expended them all.

"Nice job. Do better next time. Now it's time for my favorite part of the day. Beating stuff up time."

Another three full hours of training took place. Nuso learned the basics of fighting in melee situations. How to disarm opponents, and other useful things.

"We'll keep practicing these things till you have them down in your head permanently. Until then, you work with me. Go get your food."

"Yes sir, thank you sir."

"Ahh, get going." The Sergeant Major said, waving his hand for Nuso to move.

Nuso stopped and did a double-take on his watch. He couldn't believe how slowly the day went. It seemed like the day before was when he had run sixteen miles. As he sat and ate the small barbeque ribs he continued to go over everything he had learn that day. Pretty soon his head started to hurt. But still he went to the final class for the day.

* * *

"Hey. My name is Gregory but everyone calls me Greg. I'll bet they've militarized you already so you can call me sir if you want. We'll be working on a quick, one hour training program that goes over what you did on these computers. Then we'll go over in that hour what you could have done better."

"Then let's get started."

* * *

After the day was done and his classes over, Nuso collapsed into his bunk from complete exhaustion. If he had to do this every day than he might just die. But he knew it would get harder before it got easier. Then it would get really easy. With these thoughts in mind, he went to sleep almost instantly.

The same loud alarm went off, jolting Nuso from his blessed sleep. He felt more tired than ever, but again forced himself to rise. He tapped his energy reserves in an attempt to wake himself up, it didn't. He pulled on his grey PT uniform and jogged out to the four mile run. Colonel Matthews was there, talking with another marine.

"Welcome back freshie. Two laps, on the double!"

At least it wasn't four. Nuso started on the run and quickly found it was a lot harder than yesterday's laps. Hehadn't beenas tired as he was now.He went as fast as he could and finally collapsed when he finished.

"Don't go tired on me now. You finished with time to spare. That means we can do more push-ups. Fun huh?"

"Yes... Sir." Nuso said between breaths.

"Good. Start em up. I'll tell you when to quit."

Nuso dropped to the ground and did the exercise. After what seemed forever he finally got the okay to stop.

"Stretch, get all those kinks out of your muscles. I'm not halfway through with you."

Nuso stretched. His joints popped and he felt the cold feeling of adrenaline going through his body. He finally felt as stretched as he was going to get and stood.

"Alright. Now follow me."

They entered a large building. It was the gymnasium. Inside were a crowd of recruits doing all sorts of different workouts and exercises.

"See those weights? That's what we'll be doing now."

Nuso nodded and sat down on the bench.

"We'll start with one hundred eighty pounds."

Matthews put the weights on the bar and nodded. Nuso gripped the bar and lifted it. He slowly pushed it up and brought it down. He pushed it back up and brought it down again. He continued for several repetitions before replacing the bar.

"Not enough for you?"

"No sir."

"Try two hundred fifty."

Matthews put the weight on and nodded again. Nuso pushed the substantially heavier bar up and did the exercise. After ten he replaced the bar.

"More?"

"Yes sir."

"Final weight, three hundred twenty."

This time, the bar was heavy enough to where Nuso had a little trouble. But he did it anyway. Once he finished he got up and shook his arms. They felt light as feathers and rather numb.

"What next sir?"

"Climbing wall. Full height. Go. You have four minutes."

Nuso rushed over and jumped on. He grabbed the handholds and scrambled up. The trainers at the bottom kept ranting about something, but Nuso ignored it. Then, once he had reached the top, he figured it out. He had no descent rope.

"Come down! Thirty seconds!"

Nuso went over his options, but went with the path of least resistance. He let go and pushed off his legs. He fell the full thirty-five feet to the ground and absorbed the shock into his knees. He stood and went back to attention. Matthews walked slowly up and stared at Nuso.

"I'm impressed freshie. Give me ten laps around the gym than get yourself cleaned up. You have thirty minutes till chow."

"Thank you sir."

"Get going."

Nuso felt good for some reason from the workout. As he went through the speed shower he thought more about his position at the base. He had quickly adapted to his new life. He didn't have a choice in the matter. But it seemed almost like a more simple life. He knew it would get easier, he just had to work hard. He would work as hard as he could. He would make his instructors proud.


	7. Trials

_Four months later_

Nuso brushed his crisp black uniform. If a single speck of dust got on it he went into a frenzy of brushing it off. The left of his uniform had several ribbons on it while the other side had his name. The collar had his rank, which he treasured more than anything else. When the Colonel walked into the auditorium hall Nuso went to attention. Other marines began to file in. Each one wearing their own uniforms. Nuso's own SF dress uniform had been made especially for him. It was comfortable, though a slightly tight fit.

"Marines, at ease." The Colonel said into a microphone.

Nuso went to the rest position along with the others.

"Here we award the completion of the Basic Training course to the soldiers who are ready for active duty. Though most of them will stay and continue their SF training to become the best we can throw at the Covenant."

"HOO AH!" The entire room yelled in unison.

Matthews began to list names. Finally, Nuso heard the one that made his heart skip.

"Private First Class Kerumee. Front and center."

The room was quiet as Nuso walked up to the elevated microphone stage. Every eye in the auditorium was on him. As Colonel Matthews gave him the ribbon he saluted and returned to his spot in the back. He set the ribbon onto his rack and swiped it slightly. As the proceedings ended and the marines all filed out, Nuso walked up to the Colonel and saluted.

"You wanted to see me afterwards sir?"

"You have surprised me and become in respects, a by the book soldier for the UNSC. But this doesn't mean anything. You finished basic, that's good. But we're only just beginning now. You've passed all the basic classes we instructors had for you. Now you move up to the more intermediate studies. Are you ready?"

"Yes sir!"

"Good. You know the routine by heart. Get moving. Get your fatigues on and head over to the commander's building for your diplomat corps class. That will be all for today. The other instructors are preparing."

"Thank you sir."

"Get moving soldier."

Nuso saluted and walked quickly outside and headed towards the barracks.

* * *

"Doctor Reese. Are you sure about this? I never imagined I'd say this. But, is he in any danger?"

"I can't say. Once you are all finished with him than we complete the fourth phase and implant the augments. He has a fifty-fifty chance. Just like the Spartans."

"He's a good soldier. One of the best I've ever trained. He learns so fast. I'd never thought it would only take four months to push him through basic, but we did."

"It all depends. We're still trying to make the procedure safer, but it's taking time."

"You have another four months to make it safer. I'd suggest you get working. If he gets paralyzed right after we trained him for this than I will be thoroughly pissed."

"Yes sir Colonel."

Matthews waved her off and walked outside. He walked Nuso practically burst through the barracks door to get to his next class. The Elite actually enjoyed the diplomat training. Matthews shook his head slightly in amusement. Nuso ran into two other marines and dropped his books. Matthews saw something he never would have thought possible. The marines helped Nuso pick up his books. Matthews raised and eyebrow and turned around.

"One-zero-one."

"Yes Colonel?"

"How long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough sir." Jesse smiled.

"I understand you've made yourself a friend of Kerumee's."

"I have sir."

"Would you say he's ready for a field test?"

"You'd better believe it."

"Excuse me?"

"Sorry sir. He's ready, sir."

"You've got two days to put something together."

"I'm on it, sir."

"I want to see how he works in a real-time situation."

* * *

Nuso was scribbling furiously on another test. The Sergeant Major kept looking over his shoulder, but Nuso would cover the paper and grunt. Finally he finished it and presented his work.

"A detailed, penciled blueprints of the M-256. I'm impressed. Here's an ammo drum for it. You earned yourself two hundred rounds."

"Thank you sir!" Nuso jumped up and ran down the hall to the armory. He grabbed the assault weapon and entered the firing range bunker. Automatic fire soon commenced. Jesse walked into the classroom right after Nuso left and spoke to the Sergeant Major.

"Do I think he can use weapons effectively? Are you joking? The kid could outshoot you for Pete's sake. Give him a rifle and if itruns outta bullets he'll start using parts until the whole thing breaks up."

"I guess that answers my question sir."

"Is it a live-fire training program?"

"No sir. Tranq guns."

"Don't want for him to kill good people huh. Just don't let them get near him. When he starts fighting he goes into the zone."

"I know the feeling sir."

"I wasn't done. Anything gets near him that he doesn't want to when he's zoning it. He turns it inside out."

"I'll keep that in mind sir."

Jesse left right when Nuso walked in holding a smoking M-256.

"Fires like a beauty sir!"

"Good job soldier. Get your bulls-eyes with the S2 and you can go get your food."

"Thank you sir."

* * *

Jesse made his way to the training dojo. Shosii was inside doing more Tai Chi. He stopped when Jesse entered.

"I have a question."

"Speak."

"Would Nuso be ready for a field test? In your expert opinion."

"Ah, Nuso. Nuso been ready for field test for two months! Learn too fast! Master Shosii run out of things to teach! Started with Martial Arts. He learned those just as fast!"

"You give your recommendation then sir?"

"Ah, don't call me sir! I have a name!"

"Sorry, Shosii. Force of habit."

"Forgiveness is easily earned. And yes, I give my recommendation."

"Thank you."

Nuso had only one more instructor to ask. And this one would be the hardest to convince.

* * *

"A field test? Live fire?"

"No ma'am. Tranq guns only."

"Do you have the objective plans?"

"No ma'am. Gregory is writing them up now."

"I don't agree with him being pushed into all of this. But a field test would be good for him. He spends most of his time absorbing knowledge. He needs some exercise."

"He gets plenty ma'am."

"You know what I meant. He needs to exercise his training."

"Yes ma'am. Then I'll get it all ready."

The next day Nuso got up at four thirty, like he always did. He always woke ten minutes before the alarm so he could get out onto the track before Matthews even got there. This time though, Jesse was waiting for him.

"Hey Jesse. What are you doing down here?"

"Nuso. I give you this piece of paper and themission starts. Don't open it until you see me turn that corner. Once you do, follow the directions."

"What is it?"

"Themission starts now."

Jesse turned and walked off towards a building and turned the corner, disappearing around it. Nuso opened the paper and read it.

"**There is a target approximately three miles west of here. Do not arm yourself, it will only burden you. Move to the targets and eliminate them. They are armed**."

There were a list of coordinates on the paper on a crude grid map. Nuso blinked slightly. How could targets be here? But at the bottom it had Colonel Matthew's signature. It was real. He stretched for a moment then took off running towards the coordinates. Once he reached the tree line he grabbed a branch and very quickly hoisted himself up. He was soon moving through the treetops, keeping his eyes open for anything. He saw movement in the dark. He could see it now. It was human. But he was dressed in civilian clothes. Nuso had read before about rebels that attacked military bases and colonies, but he never would have guessed. He banished the thoughts and silently climbed down. He did a double check on the wind then moved forward.

The man lit a cigarette and turned around to backtrack. But two hands burst from the bushes and grabbed his mouth and neck. Nuso put the man in a quick sleeper hold and dropped the unconscious body. He pulled the man's pistol out and check the clip, it was full. He shoved the pistol into his pocket and climbed back into the trees.

As he moved along, he began to see several more men. Then he found their camp. There were six men and one woman. He quickly assessed all the information he could from his position. He zeroed in on what looked like their leader. He again wondered how they had come here. Why they were here. But he banished the thoughts. He had orders.

He dropped silently down into the bushes and moved through them with stealthy movements. The leader was speaking with the woman about something. Nuso strained his ears but he couldn't catch the conversation. One man walked next to him and Nuso pulled the pin from one of the grenades on his belt. After a few seconds there was a bright flash and a very loud sound.

Nuso mentally reprimanded himself. He had pulled the pin from a flashbang, not a frag. Heburst from the bushesand shot two other men. There was one guard left and Nuso fired two rounds into him. The woman pulled out a knife and charged at him. Even in her disoriented stupor she knew what she was doing. Nuso quickly grabbed her forearm and twisted it. He turned and threw her over his shoulder and into a tree with punishing force.

The last man, the leader as Nuso saw him, turned to run. Nuso tackled him and quickly tied his wrists together with a rope he found at their small campsite. He then proceeded to try and run the way back. But the man was obviously out of shape and kept falling down. This annoyed Nuso, he was used to sharp precision when it came to running. You keep going till you die. Just like Matthews told him. But this man would go no further.

Nuso, finally fed up with it slugged the man over his back and jogged the rest of the way. The sun was just starting to break over the horizon when he reached the base. Jesse was standing in the doorway to the training dojo. Nuso saw it as his best bet for a completed mission. He ran up and dropped the man onto the ground.

"Nuso. We weren't expecting you back so soon."

"I completed the mission with perfect time."

"So I see. The Colonel is inside. He wants to talk to you."

Nuso walked in and saluted when he saw Matthews.The Colonelreturned the gesture.

"At ease. Good job completing your first field test."

"Test sir?"

"Yes, a test. Now if you had known that you wouldn't have completed it so quickly now would you've? We needed for you to think it was real."

"But, I shot several men."

"The rounds were stun bolts."

"And the woman, the tree... She should be dead sir."

"Spartans are tough to kill. Yes, that's right, a Spartan. You'd be surprised how much abuse they can take and keep going. She'll be in the medbay for about a week, but she'll be fine."

"What does this all mean sir?"

"That you are becoming what we planned you to become. Maybe in the future we'll have live fire tests, but until then keep up your classes and training. Good job private."

"Thank you sir."

"My pleasure."

Matthews held out his hand. Nuso looked confused, but grasped it and shook the Colonel's hand firmly.


	8. New Dog, Old Tricks

_Three months later_

Colonel Matthews sighed as he pushed open the door to the medbay. He dreaded this moment. Nuso was the best soldier he had ever trained save the second generation Spartan Twos. As he walked in his eyes immediately fell on Nuso. He was half conscious on an operating table. The surgeons were all preparing their tools when Matthews walked in. Nuso saw him and tried to snap up to get to attention, but fell back to the table.

"Stay put son. You aren't going anywhere."

"Is this a test? Another trial?" Nuso's voice was faint.

"Sorry, no its not. But if you think of it this way than I have an objective for you."

"Sir." Nuso's voice was weakening.

"Live through it. Show me you're a real marine. Live through this to fight."

Nuso's eyes closed and he lapsed into complete unconsciousness.

"Sir, this won't be pretty. I suggest you leave and let us do our work."

"I will be informed when you are done."

"Yes sir."

Matthews walked out and looked at the small group of people outside. All of the instructors plus a Spartan in MJOLNIR armor.

"Well?"

"They just started."

"I can't believe we're letting them do this. I barely lived through my augmentation."

"Settle down Jesse. Remember, you're only human. Elites are built much tougher than we are."

"I see no reason to worry. Nuso fine student. Learn quickly. Knows how to fight death. Impressive ability to not stay down! Death will not keep him from fighting!"

"It isn't death we're worried about."

"For him he is either on his feet ready to fight, or dead in some wheelchair."

"Shosii has a point sir."

"I don't see what all of you are fretting over. Nuso will get through this. I've never seen a more determined kid."

"It's not like you to stick up for him Sergeant."

"Call me attached, but don't call me soft."

Doctor Reese was talking with Commander Banks about something. Reese finally ended the conversation and walked up.

"I almost envy Dr. Halsey right now."

"Why?"

"She had so many subjects to worry about. I have one."

"You got attached too?"

"How couldn't you? Nuso was so likeable."

"She has a point." Banks piped in.

As the group continued to talk more and more about different things. The time whittled on. Hour after hour. Finally it started to get dark.

"Come on, we should get some rest. We'll find out in the morning."

"I'll stay. Nuso is my friend and I would like to wait." Jesse said in a low voice.

"I'll wait too." Matthews added his support. "The rest of you get your sleep."

As the others walked away, Matthews sat down on a stone bench and rested his chin on his wrist.

"How has life been treating you One-zero-one?"

"I'm very edgy to get back to fighting."

"I'm sure you are. As Nuso will be soon."

"Yes sir. We hope so."

Jesse sat down on the ground, no small feat in his MJOLNIR. But he completed the task and sat back to lie down in the grass. He let himself slowly nod off to sleep, and was soon soundly dreaming, still inside the armor. Matthews felt tired, but didn't allow himself to nod off. He stayed there, even after the sun rose. He yawned and got up and went into a small building and came back out with a hot cup of coffee. He sipped it as he sat back on the bench. After another thirty minutes a surgeon came out and sat next to him on the bench.

"Finished?"

"Yep."

"Am I about to get bad news or good?"

"We don't know. Only time will tell."

"Was it bad?"

"No. Though we've never operated on an Elite we made sure to fill up on our homework before doing this. After countless simulations we wouldn't make any mistakes. I think we did our best. Now it's up to his body to adapt."

"How long?"

"Not long. Maybe a day."

"Well, here's hoping."

"Indeed."

After a few more minutes Jesse stirred than got up. He tried to rub his eyes, then remembered he was wearing his armor. After several attempts at getting through his visor in jest he gave up. He jumped up quickly and stretched. The MJOLNIR armor made him look much larger than he really was, and him stretching made it look even bigger.

"How long was I asleep?"

"About six hours."

"New record."

"Coffee?"

"No thank you sir."

"Suit yourself."

Jesse ran off towards the mess hall and returned quickly with a tray. The tray had two plates. Each plate had eggs and three pancakes with sausages on it.

"Here you go sir."

"Thank you."

"Welcome."

Jesse pulled his helmet off and dug into his food. He savored the pancakes as they were a rare treat for him. As he continued to chow down the doors of the medbay opened slowly. Nuso tried as best he could to hold himself up. He teetered forward and tried to stand erect at attention but collapsed. Jesse was instantly there and caught Nuso in his arms.

"Reporting... Objective, achieved... Sir."

"Good job soldier, good job."

Nuso made his little smile movement with his mouthparts and passed out.

"Get him to his bed."

"Shouldn't he go back to medbay sir?"

"No. There is nothing more they can do. Let a soldier sleep in his own room."

"Yes sir."

An hour later the instructors had gathered again.

"Is he alright?"

"His body is thoroughly exhausted. He is has zero energy left, zippo. I just hope he can get enough back to keep his muscles working. I gave him as much food as I could. But trust me in saying that making an Elite chew food when he's unconscious is on the 'hardest things to do in the universe' list."

"We believe you One-zero-one. We believe you."

"Thank you ma'am."

* * *

Nuso dreamed about his home. Many years before when he was much younger. His father had come home from another trip into space. His mother had embraced her husband and he had picked Nuso up and laughed. His father, his mother. He dreamed of the day his father told him humans were attacking the city. Instead of going out to fight his father had grabbed them and rushed out the door. They tried to get to the hanger but were cut off. As theyattempted to hide they were found. The marines broke in. Nuso saw in his dream his father being shot. He saw the face of the marine who shot his father. It was Jesse's face.

Nuso's eyes shot open and he yelled. He tried to stand but he collapsed onto the ground. His arms weren't working right. In fact, everything seemed different. As he tried to stand he fell back down on the ground. After many tries he began to get the hang of it. It took almost an hour, but he finally was able to walk, albeit awkwardly. He hobbled outside and stared out onto the sunlight base. His arms were so sore. They felt like they would just drop off. In fact his entire body felt that way. As he slowly made his way to the run track, he started to feel a little better. His legs started to get more strength into them. After a few more minutes he could walk straight. Another maybe ten minutes and he could walk erect.

Once he reached the track, there was no one there. He was surprised. Colonel Matthews was always out here, either with him or other marines. Then he saw a note on the chair the Colonel always sat in.

"_Nuso. When you get this note go to the largest warehouse at the south end of the base. We'll be waiting there._" It was signed Colonel Matthews.

Nuso dropped the note and was about to go when he got an idea. He dropped onto the ground and stretched. He stretched as far as he could and for as long as he could. It seemed like a longer amount of time before the burning sensation came, but he didn't think about it. After almost thirty minutes of just stretching he hopped up. He felt much better. The soreness was still there, but not as bad. He took a few quick breathes and sprinted towards the south side of the base.

Nuso stopped for a moment. He looked back from where he had started. He didn't quite understand it, but it seemed he had accelerated much faster than usual. And he could run even faster. He couldn't figure out what was different. His body did seem a lot lighter than it ever had ever been. His eyesight seemed sharper, and his hearing was better. He sniffed the air, everything smelled as it should, no change there.

He took off running towards the south side again, but he reached it much faster than it usually took him. Once he reached the warehouse he pulled the large metal doors open and walked in. There was a large group of scientists and other men and women inside. He saw Colonel Matthews, walked up and saluted.

"How you feeling?"

"Never bettersir."

"I'm sure. Now we usually keep you around for callisthenic tests and other crap like we do with Spartans, but we can't. The Covenant has restarted their campaign and we need you out on missions."

"Yes sir. I'm ready for my first sortie. Dying for it almost."

"First though, we give you your foremost weapon of choice. Doctor Reese."

"Right. This is what we have designated MJOLNIR-X armor. It is slightly similar to Spartan Two armor, onlymuch more advanced. The shield matrix is based off of two generators. Though smaller than the original MJOLNIR generators these shields overlap two layers of protective energy. They take much more damage than the normal shields and recharge very quickly. Your suit has built in motion and heat trackers along with a tag-and-follow sensor compass. It evenhas a built-in active camouflage generator. We captured a Covenant generator and made several modifications on it. You'll find it very useful. Among other things is the right wrist gauntlet contains a small blade that is protracted by a simple gesture with your arm. The left arm contains an electro-static stunner that is guaranteed to knock out anything smaller than a hunter for a very long time. It isn't as effective against Elites, but it still puts them to sleep. The armor itself is layered with both titanium and the metal used in Elite battle armor. We mixed the two metals and have created the hardest metallic substance known to man so far. It absorbs up to half of all directed energy weapons discharge that it receives and directs the absorbed energy into the built-in fusion generator. This can be used to overcharge your shields or supercharge your stunner." Doctor Reese took a breath and waved her hand at the scientists.

They wheeled in a suit that looked similar to Jesse's armor. But it was a slightly darker green, and had blue streaks along it. As the scientists began to place the different segments onto Nuso, he felt weight slowly building on his legs. As they connected the chest piece he locked his knees in placeto keep from falling over. It wasn't that it was too heavy. His muscles were still sore and he had to adjust to the weight. But once they snapped all the connectors on his chest piece the weight instantly vanished. The soreness evaporated and he felt stronger than ever.

"The suit regulates your body's functions to a degree. It can release or reduce adrenaline, endorphins, polyphormites and other hormones in your body that will serve your situation best. It immediately detected that your muscles had overdoses of lactic acid and quickly spread it to your entire muscle system. It super accelerated your muscle's absorption of the acid and voila, you are completely healed."

"Lucky." Jesse said over the Doctor.

As they finished fitting the arm parts Nuso held his hands up. They were completely encased in the armor. And any openings in the armor at the joints and such had a strange, incredibly tough fabric-like fiber inside it.

"That is the gel layer. That regulates the suit's heat. Another protection against plasma fire."

As they finally fit the helmet onto his head and snapped the seals Nuso looked around. It had a HUD, a targeting system and a sensor screen. He quickly got the hang of using it. The inner parts of the helmet had touch sensors for bringing up everything from diagnostics to weapon status just by tapping them with his mandible. Nuso instantly fell in love with the suit.

"Looks good on you Nuso."

"What do you mean he 'looks good?' He's freakin awesome!" A strange voice exclaimed.

"Who was that?"

"That, was Aaron. Say hi Aaron."

"Shove it."

"Aaron says hi. Okay here's the lowdown on your com system. The com is very powerful and so it is very long ranged. Its coded beyond all belief so don't worry about taps or traces. You have a speaker system build into the helmet that will project your words to the outside world, otherwise only others on your com can hear you."

"Jesse has his com permanently set on the speakers."

"Thank you Aaron."

"You're welcome buddy." Aaron said sarcastically.

Finally, Reese walked up and held up a small glowing chip.

"What is that Doctor?" Nuso asked, having already found his projector com.

"This is Anubis. He is your personal AI. Since your duties will require an AI, we provided one. He is the latest and most advanced type of AI we can provide. The same as Aaron.He will prove quite helpful."

Reese inserted the chip into a slot at the back of Nuso's helmet. He felt a sudden cold rush in his head and then what seemed like a presence.

"Hello."

"Hello. You are Anubis?"

"Yep. I'll be your operator for eternity. See, once they put me into that slot on your head, the chip fused with the armor. I can integrate with any computer system and such through a transfer matrix on the palms of your, um, hands. You just have to touch the panels and I'll transfer a copy of myself into the system and we're in. It's pretty nifty."

"You are not exactly what I imagined you to be with a name like Anubis."

"I was programmed with a lax personality."

"I see."

* * *

Reese ran a hand through her hair. Nuso had been silent for a few minutes and she figured he was talking with the AI.

"Nuso. We need to get going."

"Lead the way Doctor."

Nuso took the time to get used to being in the suit. It seemed that now his body would react the instant his mind told it to do something. The speed and reflexes gave him an advantage he hadn't had before. He enjoyed the speed the suit gave to his body.

"The Covenant have landed ground troops on Haspice Four. Jesse, you will lead a team comprised of two Spartans, not including yourself, and one Spartan-X. Jesse, you and your team's objective is to coordinate an effective resistance and hopefully repel the invaders. Nuso, your offshoot objective is to find out why the Covenant landed and didn't just glass the planet. Anubis will coordinate with Aaron to keep your team well updated. You'll leave via our Shrike jumpship. Good luck."

"When will we meet up with the two other Spartans?"

"At the rendezvous point on the planet. Once you land you'll be given a waypoint to move to."

"Thank you ma'am."

"Now move it, both of you."


	9. First Under Fire

Nuso ran straight to the armory. Jesse was on his tail when they burst through and stared at the wall of weapons.

"What do we need?" Nuso asked through the com.

"I'd say automatic weapons and some longer ranged gear."

"I'll take the automatic weapons."

"Then I'll grab sniper equipment."

Nuso pulled a utility web belt around his waist and fitted as many magazine pouches as it would hold on it. He fitted two holsters, one on each side and shoved an M6D into each of them. Grabbed an MG7Dheavy support rifle and slugged it onto his back. The medium sized machine gun would serve nicely in urban combat. He grabbed two MA5B assault rifles and made sure they were loaded.

"How much ammo you have Nuso?"

"Twelve magazines for each MA5B and eight for each M6D."

"That's a lot of ammo."

"Never go unprepared. Rule number one."

"Colonel Matthew's rules. Lovely."

"I would suggest you take a few explosives." A new voice suggested.

"Thanks Anubis, but I'm way ahead of you."

Nuso picked up two fragmentation and four stun grenades. The stun grenades are similar to flashbangs, only they release an impressive amount of force with the blast, along with a substantial amount of noise. It doesn't kill, but it will knock anything unconscious for quite a while.

"Once we get on the planet we're going to need to head straight to the rendezvous. We can't waste time."

"Got it."

"Let's load up then."

Nuso and Jesse quickly loaded gear into their ship docked to the station and boarded it. Matthews and Reese stood at the airlock door and watched.

"Corporal Kerumee."

"Yes sir?"

"It's unfortunate we couldn't have the proper ceremony. But you have finished all requirements we set before you. Here are two more ribbons for your rack. The first is your SF ribbon. The other is your promotion ribbon."

"Sir?"

"Here by you areTechnical SergeantNuso Kerumee. Congratulations."

"That's quite a jump sir."

"Yes, I know. But we believe that you achieved all the requirements for this promotion."

"Thank you sir. Dr. Reese."

"Good luck Nuso."

"Dismissed sergeant. Go give'em hell."

"Yes sir. Will do sir."

Nuso saluted sharply and then boarded the ship. The airlock closed and the ship moved away from the low orbit station. After a few moments it flashed and shot into slipspace.

"So what rank are you Jesse? You've never told me."

"I'm a Chief Warrant Officer."

"What comes after that?"

"Master Chief."

"Like Spartan 117?"

"Just like him. Oh I would kill to meet him."

"I've been following his career through the databanks for three months now. He's amazing."

"Best Spartan there ever was."

Nuso sat back and sighed. His left arm gauntlet beeped fora second then a hologram appeared. It was humanoid, but its head was that of a canine's. It had many gold emblems and ornaments attached around its waist and neck. Its body was streaming code, just like most other AIs.

"What is it Anubis?"

"I'm doing a series of diagnostics with your suit and I'm testing the hologram projector. This allows me to speak to people who aren't com connected."

"Yeah, it's pretty nifty." Jesse put in.

Nuso nodded and set his head back. The suit almost felt like a second skin to him now and he had only had it on for an hour. He set all his weapons in front of him and began to take them all apart and put them back together with his eyes closed.

Jesse stared at Nuso's helmet. It was dark green with two long blue streaks on the top corners. It was shaped almost exactly like Nuso's own head, other than a few spiky stick-outs here and there on the sides and on the corners of his chin. The front had two gold glass-like elongated ovals where his eyes were. They started and went back almost halfway. It gave him a very intimidating look.

"So what should I expect in fighting real enemies?"

"No mercy for one. A lot more than simulations show is another thing. And definitely watch out for hunters if there are any. Those things will take you apart if you get too close."

"Lekgolo."

"What?"

"They are called Lekgolo. That's their real name."

"Really. I didn't know that."

"Now you do."

"... I'm bored. Mental exercises only last for so long to keep you occupied. Wanna try sparring in your new armor?"

"Sure."

Nuso set his weapons down and moved in front of Jesse. Jesse raised his hands and Nuso did the same. In a blur of motion Jesse attacked with several different combat forms at once. Nuso quickly blocked, letting loose a series of his own attacks. They were so fast their hands were only blurs. But it seemed like time was slowing down whenever Nuso blocked or attacked. He didn't understand why, but he knew it was helping him. He made a quick fake jab at Jesse's waist, and the Spartan moved to block. Nuso grabbed Jesse's arm and threw him over his shoulder like a rag doll. Jesse landed in a heap.

"Wow. I wasn't expecting that."

"Expect the unexpected. Rule six."

"Yeah yeah, I know all of that."

"How long till we reach our destination?"

"Another six hours."

"Can we speed it up?"

"Maybe. But risks have to be accounted for."

"We were born to take risks."

"I'll see if I can get it down to three hours."

Jesse began to fiddle with the controls in the small bridge. Nuso sat in the tactical station and pressed several buttons and a holographic screen appeared.

"Should I bring weapon controls up when we exit?"

"No. This ship has been outfitted with a de-phasing re-polarization generator."

"... A what?"

"Cloaking field."

"Sounds like something you should throw on the Prowler."

"Heh, this ship made the Prowler obsolete."

"Nice."

As Nuso continued to look over different sensor readings, he saw a small blip on the screens showing what was in front of them.

"Hey Jesse, check this out."

"Send me a visual feed."

Nuso uploaded the images to Jesse's HUD.

"What is that?"

"Anubis, can you give me a more precise scan?"

"Negative. The object is emitting some form of jamming signal. The sensors can't get through it."

"Can you tell us the composition of the jamming field?"

"Some form of high frequency electro-vibrations."

"Its Covenant tech. Nuso, you'd better get in those guns after all."

Nuso ran to the gunnery station and pulled the main guns online.

"Gauss cannons charged and ready to go. Autoguns loaded."

"We're gaining on it. Hold up."

"Wait, if we're in a slipstream how can we fire our weapons?"

"We're not going to be in slipstream for much longer. Get ready for a massive subspace distortion. I'm going to collapse the slipstream."

"Is that wise?"

"No."

The ship suddenly shook. The hull whined slightly, but held.

"We're out! Target, zero point seven three!"

"I got it."

Nuso aimed the turret and squeezed the firing stud. The twin gauss cannons thumped as they discharged the powerfulslug rounds.

"It's fast. Moving to pursuit. Aaron, lock our original coordinates into the navigational computer!"

"I've got a clear shot. Missed! See if you can get us along side it!"

"I'm trying!"

"Looks like a scout ship. Direct hit! Its shields are gone! Anubis, autoguns, now!"

The minigun-like weapons targeted the Covenant ship and let loose streams of rounds. The piercing rounds punched through the hull and air vented out quickly. The interior flashed and the ship was literally blown in half from an internal explosion.

"That's about five minutes of time wasted. Aaron, get us on track and back in slipspace. Overcharged the engines if you have to."

"Jesse, is that wise?"

"No, but we have to get there as quickly as possible."

Nuso braced as the ship jumped through the slipspace wormhole. The slipstream seemed slightly unstable, even from visual comparison.

"Anubis, how long till our engines reach critical and the slipstream collapses onto us, tearing the ship to pieces?"

"Estimated three hours fifty-two minutes."

"Jesse, you're cutting this close!"

"I know!"

Nuso shook his head and went down the ladder to the engine room.

"Anubis. See if you can keep the engine cool. Use emergency coolant tanks if you have to."

"I'll see what I can do."

Nuso began to do what he could by hand. He found that his suit could withstand both high radiation levels and extreme heat, allowing him to work freely inside the engine itself.

"I think I bought us another hour Jesse. How far are we out?"

"Thirty-two minutes."

"I'll see about getting us down to ten."

"What are you doing?"

"Coupling the engines with the fusion engine. It will fry this entire ship and make it unusable ever again, but we'll get there."

"... Do it."

"On it."

Nuso began to work on the reactor when the ship began to shake.

"What is that?"

"We're moving through a mass shadow. Probably a big asteroid."

"Is it bad?"

"We're pulling the graviton waves like a magnet. I'd give the slipstream ten minutes before collapse."

"I'm finished. We're ten minutes out from our destination."

"We have to go faster!"

"That's as fast as we are going to get!"

"I'll cloak the ship when we get out. But the graviton waves might expose us for a few moments."

"Then exit the stream in eight minutes. We'll be far enough out of range of their sensors. Our normal engines will compensate."

"We're cutting this close."

"It'll work. I didn't go through almost a year of training just to die in the cold of space."

"Six minutes. Get all your gear ready!"

Nuso quickly returned to his weapons, put them all back together and set them into his holsters. He twirled the pistols on his fingers and shoved them into his belt.

"Get the HEV pods ready to deploy."

Nuso practically jumped over to the pods and set them into place and armed the launch charges. He opened them both and climbed into the first.

"Aaron, set the ship with preset flight maneuvers. We'll jump out about fifteen miles outside their sensor cones and then come in pretty darn fast. We're fifteen minutes out from HEV drop."

"I'm ready. Locking HEV one."

Nuso closed the hatch and secured it. He set the pod on ready status and made himself comfortable.

"We'll be landing in a hot zone so make sure your weapons are loaded."

"Got it."

Nuso felt the jolt of exiting slipspace and then a strange tingling feeling.

"The ship is cloaking. Get ready. I'm in my pod. HEV on ready?"

"Check."

"Charges armed?"

"Check."

"Weapons ready?"

"Safety off."

"Prepare for hot drop."

The ship bucked and began to turn. Nuso slammed the launch lever and the HEV shot out of the ship. Nuso's stomach went into his throat as the inertial dampeners slowly compensated. Then a heavy jolt as the pods broke the atmosphere.

"Twenty seconds till impact!"

"It's like an express elevator to hell!" Aaron's voice cracked over the coms.

"Ten seconds!"

Nuso counted the seconds off in his head. Right as hereached zero the HEV pod hit something solid. Nuso quickly kicked the hatch off and jumped out. They had landed right in the middle of a war zone. There were explosions everywhere. Nuso brandished the MG7D and loaded an ammo box. He saw a green projectile jump into the air and slowly come down towards him.

"Nuso, fuel rod bolt!"

"Hit the deck!"

Nuso dove as the round hit the HEV pod and half blew it apart, half melted it. Nuso quickly calculated the position of the enemy with the weapon and pulled a frag grenade out and chucked it back. He and Jesse quickly took cover in a blown out building. There was machine gun fire coming from the upper floors, so marines must be holed up inside. Nuso looked through a hole in the wall and saw a group of Covenant Grunts.

"Contact!"

Nuso aimed and fired the large machine gun. He bounced slightly as the weapon fired. He spread an even fire zone onto the enemy troops and let go of the trigger when he saw no more movement.

"Set up down here! I'm moving up to assist the marines!"

"Yes sir!"

Nuso set the machine gun onto a small bipod and got down in the prone position. Anything his HUD classified as an enemy he fired at. He had three drums of ammo, approximately six hundred rounds. He fired, but the Covenant forces seemed to be endless. Then he saw something he should've epected. There were several elites coming at his position. His finger twitched slightly as he contemplated what to do. He closed his eyes, gritted his teeth and pulled the trigger.

"Incoming plasma mortars!"

Nuso looked out the hole into the sky and saw four blue balls of fire coming down on the building. He grabbed the drums of ammo and the machine gun and dove out the door. Plasma quickly followed him out and licked at his shields. Marines piled out of the doorway as the mortars blewthe building apart. One saw him and immediately raised his assault rifle to fire. Jesse suddenly appeared and grabbed the weapon before the marine could fire.

"Stand down soldier, he's one of us!"

"He's a freakin Elite!"

"Stand down! Do you see a UNSC insignia on his shoulder!"

"Yes sir."

"Then don't shoot him! Get out to the front!"

Jesse ran up and replaced the magazine in his S4 light assault gun and ran up to Nuso.

"I have the waypoint, let's move!"

Nuso nodded and sprinted out towards the small blue arrow. A Jackal got in his way and dove his wrist knife into the back of its neck before it even saw him. As he jumped over a pile of rumble Nuso saw a green armored figure firing a sniper rifle from a pile of stone.

"Jesse, ID on the Spartans!"

"Roger!"

"Let's hope I get a warm welcome."

Nuso ranover some rubble,slid under a low piece of building and jumped up behind the sniping Spartan. Hesaw the other operating a mortar tube.The Spartanlooked up and his hand immediately went to his sidearm. Nuso dove behind a pile of rocks and slowly showed his head above it.

"Don't shoot! I'm UNSC, like you!"

"Identify yourself!"

"Spartan-X, code zero-one!"

"You're the Spartan-X? Alright, whatever! Get over here and load! I lost my loader just a minute ago!"

Nuso jumped up and sat down next to the mortar tube. The weapon spit out the charge and Nuso immediately shoved another in. He watched the charge fly through the air and estimated where it would land. He looked down and saw four Grunts moving up over another pile of rumble and were about to fire. They hesitated when they saw him, which proved to be fatal. Nuso pulled the pin from his second frag grenade and threw it right in the middle of their group. The explosion blew them all away.

"I'm out of charges! What now?"

"Is this position compromised?"

"Are you kidding!"

"We wait for One-zero-one. He's in charge."

On queue Jesse jumped over the rocks and rumble and landed next to the other Spartan.

"Spartan One-six-five reporting sir!"

"At ease Spartan. Where is One-five-seven?"

"Providing support fire, sir!"

"Get him down here, we're pulling back. This area is completely overrun!"

"But sir..."

"No buts. You have your orders."

Nuso looked up to the rumble wall as One-five-seven ran up. And anElite was climbing over. Nuso quickly grabbed Jesse's rifle and fired a round straight through its head.

"Nice, now let's go."

"One-zero-one, sir. I respectfully request I move on to my objective."

"Not yet zero-one. We have our primary orders to complete."

"Yes sir."

An hour later they were all standing in the field command post. Nuso was sitting on the floor since he was too heavy to sit in the wooden chairs. The marine commander, an ODST by the name of Major Wilkens stared at the Elite.

"It just isn't right. He's an Elite. Why is he fighting for us?"

"Because he was ordered to."

"Well I don't care what your orders are, Chief. I'm in charge here."

"I was not ordered to usurp your command sir. We are here to organize a proper resistance against the invading forces."

"You think I'm not doing that already?"

Jesse shifted slightly on his feet. Nuso had never seen him nervous like this. He didn't even need to see his face to know he was nervous. A blue light appeared on his HUD. Spartan One-six-five wanted to speak with him over their private com.

"Yes?"

"I was just wondering. How did you come to be in the position you are in now?"

"Captured by marines. One thing led to another I guess."

"I see. Well, believe me on this one. Steer clear of ODST brass. They hate Spartans and you're an Elite, which makes you their black list number one."

"I'll remember that."

Jesse started to get angry as Major Wilkens made a thorough pain of himself.

"With all due respect sir if you don't let me do my job than I'll go over your authority and do it through high command's orders. You might be in charge but if you hinder us you will be subject to a court-marshal."

"You can't scare me with empty threats Spartan. I'm in charge here and until I see orders on my desk, you are staying here until this conflict is over."

"Fine, you want orders, here."

Jesse raised his arm and a hologram appeared of a scruffy looking human teenager.

"Aaron, state our latest orders from Colonel Matthews, UNSC High Command."

"Our order state for Spartan One-zero-one to take command of a Spartan team and organize a proper defense of Haspice Four against the Covenant until reinforcements arrive. Spartan One-zero-one is given full command in the event either the field commander is dead or unable to hold his position. Spartan One-zero-one is given full judgmental authority to choose whether a commander is capable of holding the position of command. UNSC High Command issued at seventeen forty-nine yesterday.Failure to comply with these orders by any officer will result in court-marshal."

The hologram disappeared and Jesse crossed his arms. Major Wilkens looked like he was about to blow a blood vessel. But he sat down and breathed deeply, staring maliciously up at Jesse from his chair.

"So. Will you take my command or just do your job?"

"That sir, is up to you."

"Then do your job. But keep that Elite away from my men!"

Nuso looked up and stared at Wilkens from behind his visors.

"That 'Elite' is a member of my team sir. He is a valuable addition to our outfit and will assist in eliminating the enemy."

"He _is_ the enemy."

"Sorry to correct you sir but he isn't.Sergeant Kerumee is a member of the UNSC SF marine units. He is also a Spartan and he is under my command. You have no authority to give him orders."

Wilkens stood up and uttered a curse before storming out of the tent. Jesse uncrossed his arms and walked up to the other Spartans.

"Nice one." One-six-five said, making a smile gesture across his visor.

"I don't think we'll have any more problems with him." One-five-seven said as hespun his sidearm on his fingerabsent-mindedly.

"Alright. You all know what you're supposed to do. One-five-seven, coordinate front line troops. One-six-five, you arerear assist with the medical and operations.Zero-one and I will move up to see if we can dig out any civvies."

"Roger that."

"Move out Spartans. zero-one, with me."

"Yes sir."


	10. The Good Samaritan

Nuso moved through the rubble, metal and rock with speed and ease. An Elite showed itself trudging through the broken pavement with a piece of food in its hand. It saw Nuso coming and dropped the food capsule. It barely had time to pull its rifle before Nuso cracked its neck around almost three hundred sixty degrees.

"One-zero-one. I have had contact with an enemy unit, presence still under stealth protocols."

"Roger that. Search out civvies. We need to save who andwhat we can."

"Yes sir."

Nuso fought the urge to salute.

"Anubis. Can you detect anything?"

"Nothing. As if the whole area was motionless. If I use your heat sensor and tune it with the motion tracker I might be able to make a rudimentary heartbeat detector."

"Do it."

After a moment a new display appeared in Nuso's HUD. A single grey blip appeared and Nuso immediately went after it. It was under a large metal slab. Nuso put his hands under it and strained. His suit's hydraulics strained and his own muscles felt the burn of the massive weight. But he lifted it and lifted it up over his head. It felt like he was bench pressing a tank. He slowly set the slab down as quietly as possible and looked under it. There was a small girl there covered in dust, half buried in stones. Nuso carefully lifted her out and held her in his long arms.

"Chief, I've located a wounded civilian. She looks bruised, but nothing serious."

"Good job. I found a small group of hide-aways and am escorting them back to base camp. What is your position?"

"About thirteen miles inside Covenant lines."

"You're what?"

"Was I not clear sir?"

"Why that far?"

"I guess I got a little sidetracked."

"Can you move back quickly?"

"Not quickly."

"Do what you can."

"Yes sir."

Nuso found an abandoned building and checked it thoroughly before setting the girl down. He cleaned several of her open wounds and placed cold packs from his med kit on her bruises. He looked around in some of the rooms and found a blanket. He placed it over her then went to the window and hit his cloak. He felt the tingling feeling of the shifting particles as they mirrored the images around him. He set the S2 he had picked up earlier on his knee and watched for anything coming. After three hours the little girl stirred and slowly got up. She looked at the cold patches on her arms and leg and picked at them slightly.

"Try not to pull those off."

She looked up, and seeing no one pulled the blanket closer.

"Who's there?"

"A friend. You just can't see me."

"Who are you?"

"My name is Nuso."

"You're a friend?"

"Yes. I'm your friend. What's your name?"

"Adrian."

"How old are you Adrian?"

"Ten."

Nuso quickly calculated the advancements of the brain cells inside of a ten year old girl and formulated it with the amount ofreaction she might have at his appearance. He had been trained in psychology and he knew how to handle children. The only problem was, could they handle him?

"I'm going to let you see me. But you have to promise me you won't make any noise. I'm kind of scary." That sounded good.

"Okay."

Nuso dropped down from the window and set his S2 down. The weapon materialized and Adrian looked at it. She blinked for a moment then looked up. Nuso materialized right in front of her and she gasped. She pulled the blanket over her head and made an odd whimpering sound.

"No, no, it's okay. I'm a good guy. Don't be scared."

"You're one of those mean monsters!"

"I'm not mean. I saved you."

Adrian slowly lowered the blanket.

"Why?"

"Why not?"

Adrian still looked scared, but she complied.

"Are you hungry Adrian?"

"Uh huh."

"Well, I don't have much, and it doesn't taste really good, but its filling." Nuso said, pulling out an unassembled MRE.

He opened the package of sausage meat and set it down. He pulled out three plasma grenades he had picked up and took them apart. He pulled the fuses and the plasma coils out and set them together in a strange fashion. He fitted the casings back on with a hole at the end with a filter. He put the sausages in front of it and hit the button. A small jet of blue flame spurted out and instantly cooked the meat.

"Here you go."

Adrian took the food and ate it timidly.

"Still hungry? Here, have the bread. It has no taste but it will help. Don't let me keep you from the brownie. Don't eat so fast you could choke." Nuso's eyes got big, this child was eating all his food.

"Water please."

Nuso pulled his canteen from his belt and unscrewed it. Adrian took it and took two big gulps, then coughed. Nuso smiled then hit his helmet seal release. The helmet hissed and air came out, then it loosened. He pulled it off and shook his head slightly. Adrian took one look at him and dropped the canteen. In one swift move he grabbed it before it hit the ground and spun the screw back on.

"Don't be scared. I'm not as mean as I look."

Then he looked at Adrian's eyes. She wasn't looking at him, she was looking behind him. Nuso quickly turned and his eyes widened. Standing there was a black armored Elite.

"What are you doing?" It asked with what seemed outright shock.

Nuso didn't answer, but slowly stood.

"You defy the Prophets by tending to this human?"

Nuso still held his tongue.

"You will be executed for this!"

The Elite pulled a plasma sword out and ignited it. Nuso slowly moved his hand behind his back and pulled a small throwing knife from a pouch behind him. The Elite bared its fangs and jumped. Nuso quickly hurled the knife and it caught the Elite in the forehead and sank in. The Elite crashed to the ground and laid still.

"You killed him."

"Him before me. That's how the world goes."

Nuso went through the Elite's belt and pulled out more plasma grenades and a plasma rifle. He deactivated the plasma sword and placed that in a storage pouch.

"Might come in handy."

Adrian still seemed afraid, but she didn't complain. Nuso sat down with a little difficulty, but finally set himself down.

"Anubis, will we have any more company?"

The hologram flickered slightly before materializing on Nuso's arm.

"Unknown. I was not able to detect that Elite, he may have had an active camouflage."

"See about modifying my suit's sensors, again."

"On it."

As the hologram disappeared Nuso looked down at Adrian. She was staring at his helmet.

"What is it?"

"Why are you different?"

"Upbringing."

"Huh?"

"I was brought up by better people than the ones that fight. As for why I am a member of the UNSC. I was captured and they thought I would be more useful this way."

Adrian put her hands around his helmet and tried to lift it. She accomplished the goal with some difficulty. Nuso placed his long fingered hands around the helmet and lightly took it out of her hands and put it back on his head. The seals hissed before fusing with the rest of the suit.

"See. Nothing to be afraid of. But you're going to have to be strong if you want us to get out of here. I've been trained extensively for going undercover in the Covenant ranks, if you know what that means."

"You pretend you're one of them?"

"Yes. I can get us only so far doing that. I'm going to go scout out the local enemies."

"What about me?"

"That's easy. I took that other Elite's active camouflage. It makes you invisible and as long as you don't move very much you won't be found."

Nuso fitted the device on Adrian's neck and waist. It was big, but it fit.

"I'll be back, don't worry."

And with that he was gone.

* * *

Nuso ran through the rubble and quickly found what he was looking for. A large camp full of Grunts, Jackals and Elites. There were even several Brutes in the mix. Nuso breathed deep and straightened himself. The UNSC insignia disappeared as his armor went into incognito mode as he called it. His armor changed color from the dark green to agoldish yellow.He still looked different, but he could pass as a Covenant commander. As he walked through the groups of aliens the wary every so often looked up at him.

As he walked along he saw what he wanted. A computer filled command post. But before he even got close a red armored Elite stood in his way. It was a little over half a foot taller than he was, and it puffed itself up to look more intimidating.

"Who are you?"

"That is none of your concern... You obstruct my path. Move."

"I've never seen you here before."

"Because I came from the eastern camps."

"What were you doing there?"

"Commanding the offensive against the human filth."

"Commanding?"

"Don't you know a High Marshal when you see one?"

The Elite's features quickly took on a fearful expression.

"I'm sorry commander. I didn't recognize your armor."

"Not many do. It was custom made for my specifications."

The Elite bowed his head as he moved out of the way. Nuso walked on towards the command post, hoping for no more interruptions, no such luck. A brute stood and growled at him ominously.

"Where are you going!"

"Is that your business?"

"I am the commander of this camp. No one enters the command module without my authorization!"

"What does it take to get your authorization?"

"You can't, Elite."

"I must get to a long ranged com. There is one in the command module. Whether through you or not, I am reaching it."

"I'd like to see you try!"

"Very well."

Nuso grabbed the Brute's collar and lifted it above his head. He held the Brute in the air and then chucked him into a pile of rocks. The Brute roared with fury and went onto all fours. It charged at Nuso with killing on its mind. Nuso timed the charge, then shot his leg out. The Brute's forehead connected with Nuso's kick and the attack snapped its neck like a twig. The Brute collapsed in a heap, dark blood coming out of its ears and mouth.

"Any more wishing to prove themselves? Anyone?"

The camp was silent.

"Good."

Nuso entered the command module and placed his palm on the panel. Anubis instantly uploaded himself into the circuits and quickly downloaded all the information contained inside its memory. He then used the com system to uploaded copies of himself into all the other command modules, downloading that information as well.

"I've got all their plans."

"Nice. Make a compressed beam signal and send it back to the HQ."

"Done."

Anubis pulled himself out and Nuso walked out of the module. This time there were two hunters just lumbering around outside. They seemed rather docile, until they got to fighting. Nuso considered his chances of getting back to the front lines by running with the girl. He needed a vehicle. He looked around. There were Ghosts and Spectres. Then there were Wraiths. Then he looked at the Banshees. None of these vehicles would do, though sabotaging them would work to his advantage.

As he went about his business of setting the vehicles to explode on activation he looked around and saw the perfect transport.

"A dropship!"

"Thankfully your helmet's projection coms aren't on."

"Come on Anubis, lighten up a bit."

"Whatever you say boss."

It took Nuso almost three hours to finish the task of rewiring the vehicles to the explosives. After finally finishing his taskNuso ran up and behind the command module and set a six pound pack of C7 gel explosives inside a vent in the back then high-tailed it to the dropship. He jumped into the pilot's seat and powered the vehicle up. The ground troops saw their only dropship lifting off and they all panicked. Nuso hit the button to detonate the explosives in his HUD and watched the fireworks as the command module was torn to pieces.

As the ground troops scrambled to mount their vehicles and assemble a partially organized defense, they discovered too late that the vehicles weren't in the mood to be driven. Explosions and plasma rained all over the camp, and soon there was practically nothing but steaming glass. The remaining troops tried grabbing fuel rod guns and other such weapons.

"Anubis, covering fire."

"Already on it."

The guns on the Phantom swiveled and aimed down at the amassing troops. In a barrage of plasma, there was little left but ashes.

"Let's go. And broadcast on all UNSC transmissions that this vessel is friendly."

"Aye sir."

Nuso banked the dropship down and moved in to the building where he had left Adrian.

"Anubis, take the controls. I'm dropping in."

The dropship steadied as Nuso dropped down the small grav-lift onto the broken roof of the building. He jumped down and after several minutes of running down flights of steps he made it to the room where she was hiding.

"Adrian, I'm back. Come on."

Nuso hit his heat sensor and saw the pulsating outline of the small girl. She was tugging on the active camo rig to try and get it off. Nuso walked up and pulled a latch off from the back and the device fell off.

"Come on."

They reached the top floor and stared up through the large hole in the roof.

"I can't get up that."

"Yes you can. Hold on."

Adrian climbed onto Nuso's back and he leapt up. He landed on the metal roof at stared up at the dropship. He waved and it maneuvered over them. The grav lift activated and sucked them in. The Phantom's engines powered up and shot off towards friendly lines.

Anubis took the controls and Nuso sat down hard on the metal floor. Adrian stared rather fearfully around, but Nuso invited her to sit with him and she did.

"Why is it you're so nice?"

"I guess it's just how I am. I'm supposed to protect those who can't protect themselves."

"Like me?"

"Yes, like you."

"... Where is my mom?"

Nuso breathed in deeply and let it out slow.

"When did you last see her?"

"Right before something knocked me out."

"I don't know where she is then."

"Is she dead?"

"I don't know."

Adrian's eyes filled with tears and she buried herself in Nuso's chest. He almost pushed her away, but forced himself to hold still. He pulled an arm around her and tried to console her but nothing helped. Then it dawned on him.

"You know Adrian. I lost my mother too."

"Really?" Adrian said, wiping her eyes.

"Really. It was only about a year and a half ago. She was killed by... An accident."

"What was she like?"

"Soft hearted and kind. Nothing like your teachers have probably painted pictures of us as. We are a warrior race, yes. But we are not all warriors. My father was a warrior, one of the best. But he died saving me."

"I'm sorry."

"Now it wasn't you fault now was it?"

"I just wanted you to feel better."

Nuso almost smiled inside his helmet. Then a red blip appeared on his HUD.

"What is it Anubis?"

"We forgot to fill up before we left. This thing is out of gas."

"Huh?"

"The power cells are almost completely drained. Thankfully I'm already landing us near HQ. I just don't know where any of the marines are."

"What do you mean?"

"There are no troops on the ground. The camp is deserted."

Nuso's mind began to cycle through the different possibilities, then it hit him like a brick.

"Anubis, do we have enough power for the guns?"

"For one, maybe."

"We just landed in an ambush."

Nuso quickly dropped down the grav lift and looked this way and that. Then he was brutally aware of dozens of Jackal snipers training Beam Rifles at him. He raised his arms and several Elites stepped out. One of them wore bright gold armor.

"Traitor! You dare ally yourself with the humans! You will be executed for this abomination!"

"Shove it!"

"You dare insult me!"

"Show me what you got." Nuso said, his voice a low growl.

"So be it."

The gold Elite flared his mandibles and produced a plasma sword. Nuso pulled the sword he gained from earlier out and ignited it. The two warriors circled around as the Elites and Jackals chanted them on. The gold one roared and charged. Time seemed to slow down as he approached. A slight, almost invisible flaw in his stance and Nuso ducked down and swung the sword in a wide arc. The plasma beam sliced into the Elite's shields and cut a deep gash in its side.

"Argh!"

The Elite put a hand to the cauterized wound, then gripped his sword tighter.

"You will not land another blow traitor!"

"Think fast!"

Nuso threw a stun grenade and the Elite dove for cover. The grenade went off on impact with the ground and a blinding flash went off. Nuso's HUD filtered out the light, but the Elite's did not. Dazed and confused they all stumbled about, tripping over rocks and such. The snipers aimed their rifles, but Nuso pulled the pin of two smoke grenades and tossed them in the paths of the Jackals. Without a clear line of sight they couldn't fire without hitting their own troops.

Nuso smiled to himself and turned to run back to the dropship. He turned and ran smack into the front armor plate of a hunter. Before he could react the behemoth slammed its shield down on Nuso's head and his world went dark.


	11. Sangheili Maximus

Nuso opened his eyes slowly and painfully. His head was throbbing as were his neck and wrists. He looked at his arms; they were in some form of chain stocks attached to a wall. He had very little slack from the tight braces and it was cutting off some blood from his hands. There was one on his neck as well, then it hit him. His helmet was gone. His armor was gone. Looked down he saw that everything had been taken off. He began to get desperate and struggled, then remembered that Anubis was in the armor. He had to lock himself away; otherwise the Covenant would learn everything Anubis knew. Nuso was in a very bad situation. His training hadn't covered capture very much. Other than a cyanide pill, which was unfortunatelyin his helmet.

A minute later the door to his cell opened. Standing there were two gold Elites and a black one.

"So, young one. We have learned you fight for the humans now. What brought you to battle for those filth?"

Nuso didn't answer.

"You will tell me what I want to know."

The wrist locks suddenly burned with pain and it shot up his arm and down his chest. He didn't even flinch as the pain surged down to his legs. Then, as quickly as it started, it stopped.

"I am Ossoona Rafel Lusomee. Who are you?" He was starting slow.

Nuso saw no harm in this simple questioning, but would be wary of tricks.

"Technical Sergeant Nuso Kerumee, PIN 060-428-34-7162. Designated Spartan-X-Zero-One."

The Ossoona looked confused.

"You're what?"

"I feel no need to repeat myself."

"Show respect traitor. We may yet let you live."

"Hah! I'd be surprised of that!"

"I gave you a command, if you don't obey it then you will punished most harshly." The Elite's voice was a low growl.

Nuso narrowed his eyes at the Ossoona. They locked gazes and held them.

"Detach his lock and have him follow."

The two gold Elites pull the chains away from the wall and pushed Nuso towards the door. As they walked through what seemed a prison section, Nuso looked into the different cells. Most were empty, some contained Covenant races. But then he saw what that sickened him.

There were humans inside, stripped of clothes just like him. They were young, the oldest maybe eighteen. The males and females had separated and tried to cover themselves but found it difficult. Nuso couldn't believe the cruelty of the Covenant by this action. Then again, he had been treated even worse. He had been tortured.

No, he couldn't think that way. Hewas stronger than these mere children. He had to do something! He struggled slightly, then one gold Elite punched Nuso in the mouth. The Elite quickly started to do a little dance as he shook his hand in pain. Nuso had opened his mouth at the last minute and chomped on the Elite's hand.

"Enough of you!"

More of the burning pain, only for a very short time.

"Move!"

After a rather long walk they finally reached a massive room. In it were three figures. The black armored Ossoona. Another Elite in much different armor. And a Prophet Hierarch.

"So this is the Sangheili that betrayed the Great Journey."

"Yes Truth. He has been quite stubborn in his actions."

"I can see. Arbiter, release his restraints."

"But Prophet..."

"Do not disrespect my orders Rafel. Arbiter."

The strangely armored Elite walked up and unlatched the bonds. After free Nuso didn't run, he didn't fight, he just stood there.

"We have found your armor of strange design warrior. We cannot even come near it or a lightning bolt will kill the researchers who attempt it. This only began once we assembled it. Explain." Truth's voice was soft.

Nuso smiled. Anubis had altered the stunner into a lightning projector, most effective.

"High Prophet, I don't believe he will answer any questions."

"And why shouldn't he?"

"Because the humans have conditioned him against torture. All the humans we have placed the branding rings on have yelled what they knew only seconds after we activated it. This one took almost three units of it."

"Impressive. You can withstand great pain. But we have other forms of torture. We discovered that you were attempting to rescue a human child from our gained territoryin theworldwe found you on. We may yet usethis to our advantage."

Two Brutes walked in, practically dragging a female child by her arms. Nuso eyes grew wide and began to grow brighter with anger. It wasn't Adrian, this one was much older. But tears could be seen falling from her face.

"You will find that some tortures carry no pain to you. But pain to another."

One brute produced a long whip. He began to walk back to a good position. Nuso tightened his muscles, before the whip cracked he shot forwards. Accelerating from zero to almost fifty miles an hour in a micro-second. He caught the whip and spun around. Snapping the handle end on the Brute's head. The Brute fell to the ground, bloodseeping out of his ear. The other Brute let go of the girl and wrapped his huge arms around Nuso's back and arms and squeezed. Nuso lifted his arms and forced the Brute to release. Nuso spun and grabbed the Brutes collar and belt, lifting the creature above his head.

The Brute flailed around, but was helpless in his inverted position.

"Impressive. You are a perfect soldier. Even more powerful than the Brutes. I have learned what I wished to know."

Truth's chair turned and floated away. The Brute continued to try and free himself, but Nuso snapped his back like a twig and all movement ceased. He dropped the corpse and simply stood there. He was in a very large room. He was surprised when the Ossoona and the Arbiter didn't restrain him and take him back to the cells. But understood when all the doors locked. The female who he had saved slowly got up and crossed her arms to shield herself.

Nuso looked around and found something he could use. It was tapestries. He ripped them down and tore them till he had made an impromptu robe. He tossed it to the girl who quickly pulled it around her. She looked almost ancient Greek in the red cloth. And Nuso had learned quite a lot about them. All Spartan Two soldiers did.

"Thanks."

Nuso nodded and began to pace around, trying to think. The girl only watched him, then finally began to pace herself.

"Let me ask you something." The girl finally said.

"What?"

"Why are you on our side instead of theirs? I can tell that they respect you since you just thrashed both these, things. But you are their enemy."

"Unlike most of my kind I fight for the UNSC."

"Good. Finally I have someone who knows what they're doing."

"You won't find anyone who knows more what they're doing than me."

"Samantha." She said, holding her hand out.

"Nuso." He said, grasping her hand in his.

"I guess it's nice to meet you."

"I imagine so."

"So, what's your plan?"

"Wait for them to slip. Wait for the opportune moment. Kill them all."

Almost on queue one of the doors opened. Nuso felt his heart skip waiting for a Grunt or a Jackal. No such luck, it was the Arbiter. The Elite walked up to Nuso and stared at him.

"What is your name young one?"

"Nuso Kerumee."

"I knew Ulich Kerumee! He was my partner in training. Now I meet his son. How was he killed? Did he die in battle?"

"He died fighting to protect my mother and I."

"I see. Honor to him for this action."

"Do you have a purpose or are you here to pester me? If so, go away."

"Pester you? Nay, far from it."

"Then what do you want?"

"You've killed two Brutes. The council sees this as a great feat for a single Elite. They wish to see you truly fight in the Arena of the Morning Star. This is your armor. I can't touch it so I justdropped it in this storage crate."

Nuso quickly opened it and stared at his armor. It was in perfect condition.

"Anubis, deactivate defense protocol alpha. Echo foxtrot golf romeo tango."

"Code approved." A voice responded.

Nuso quickly began to grab the pieces of his armor and set it to his body and latch them there. Soon enough he had his legs and waist obscured by the dark green and blue armor. Then he set his breastplate on and closed it. Then came his arms and he sealed those. Finally he was completely encased in the MJOLNIR-X and it felt good to be back in his real weapon. He fitted the helmet on and sealed it. The Arbiter stared at him with interest.

"Humans made this armor?"

"Yes."

"Who would have guessed they were capable of creating a piece of technology that is so much more advanced than our own."

Nuso didn't respond.

"I will be waiting outside that door when you are ready."

"I am ready now."

"Then follow me."

"You understand that by giving me my armor back, I can easily overpower anything you can throw at me and escape."

"Oh, I don't think so."

"Why?"

"Because the human there has several plasma cannons aimed at her. You escape; she dies as well as all the others. We'll give them to the Brutes."

Nuso sighed and gave in. He stared at the Arbiter and noticed his mandibles were twitching every so often. At first he thought it was involuntary, then he saw it was more like Morse code. He instantly knew what the Arbiter was doing. He was speaking in Sanghei, the pantomimelanguage of the Sangheili. Nuso racked his brain for the translation, and he remembered it quickly. The Sangheili spoke in both vocal and the signed languages. And his father had taught him both.

"Fight in the arena and you will get your chance to escape."

Nuso pulled his helmet off and twitched his own mandibles in response.

"What do you mean?"

"I may be the Arbiter, but I was also a Zealot. Like your father did, I despise the Prophets. I want nothing more than for my brothers to be free. I am a heretic, of sorts."

"And if I escape?"

"It would be an embarrassment to Truth."

"Why continue this charade then?"

"What choice do I have?"

"We always have a choice."

"Not always. Follow me. And speak no more of this matter."

Nuso nodded, replaced his helmet and stared back at Samantha. She waved her goodbye and Nuso nodded back to her. Two Elites came in and escorted her out.

"Anubis. Cut your way into the systems of this place."

"Can't do it remotely."

"What do you need?"

"For your hand to come in direct contact with a panel, any kind."

Nuso saw a holographic projector sticking up from the floor and he placed a hand on it. A tiny flash was all that went off, no one saw it, no one noticed.

"Got a copy in. I've got complete access to, the lights."

"Say what?"

"The systems are all encrypted beyond anything I have ever seen. There hundreds of AIs shifting through the systems. If I access them, blammo, I'm dead."

"Fine, maybe the lights are all I'll need."

After almost an hour of walking they finally came out of the maze of passageways into a massive coliseum. It was the largest Nuso had ever seen. Every seat was filled with cheering Covenant troops as two Brutes duked it out in the battle floor. Finally one smacked the other down and announced itself the winner.

Nuso walked out into view and got only curses and rants. He didn't listen, he didn't care. The Arbiter wouldn't help him without exposing his true beliefs. Nuso was on his own.

"Let him fight the victor!" The crowd roared.

The victorious Brute roared and charged. He was berserking, perfect. As he approached, Nuso slowly put weight onto one leg and flexed the other, readying for the kick. The Brute came into range and Nuso's armored leg crushed into the Brute's chest. It was lifted into the air slightly, breaking ribs and momentarily stunning the dangerous alien.

Nuso didn't let up, he unleashed a barrage of kicks and punches Jesse wouldn't have been able to withstand. After this punishing attack, Nuso lifted the Brute into the air an chucked him a clear thirty feet and it rolled along the ground to a stop, dead.

The crowd was silent, then yet again they yelled for his blood. Five Elites in bright red and gold glowing armor walked into the arena floor. They're armor was brilliantly decorated and they carried long, deadly looking spears.

"Honor guard. Be careful Nuso."

"Watch my back Anubis."

"You know I will."

As the honor guards surrounded him and lowered their spears, Nuso tapped his foot to their timing. One moved a little farther than the others and Nuso snapped forwards, pulled the spear from its grasp and whapped it over the head with the blunt end. He swung the spear over his head helicopter fashion, the sharp end moving fast enough to seem to be in every direction at once. One honor guard's spear clanged against the spinning weapon and was thrown from his hands. Nuso took the advantage and snapped the blunt end against the Elite's chin, sending him into a spin that landed him on his stomach, out cold.

Two others spun their spears around and made long arm lunges. Nuso quickly dodged one and parried the second. He used his spear as a pole vault and pushed himself up and landed behind one guard and slammed both fists over the back of its head. Its helmet fell off and clattered onto the ground. Nuso quickly took advantage of it and used it like a football. He kicked it right into the face of the guard in front of him. There was only one left, and it dropped its spear and pulled out a plasma sword.

Nuso picked up two spears and twirled them around. He snapped them in half and created for himself a pair of impromptu short bladed swords. The guard attacked him with ruthless abandon, and Nuso quickly went onto the defensive. But after almost four minutes of blocking attacks he went onto his own counter assault and pushed the guard back. The crowd was cheering for the guard, but it was quite apparent who was winning.

In one quick move Nuso faked a lunge, and the guard took the bait. Nuso did a double footed hammer kick and sent the Elite into the wall with crushing force. The armor protected it, but it was out cold. The crowd shouted their protests as Nuso simply sat down and bobbed his head to the timed beat of the uproar.

The Prophet of Truth had been watching and he stroked his beard thoughtfully. This Sangheili was unlike any warrior he had ever seen. It was so fast, so strong. Even the Arbiter wouldn't stand a chance against it. But it was poisoned with the ideals of the Humans. It would hinder the Great Journey if allowed to rejoin the Covenant ranks. This he could not allow. But what a weapon it would be in the campaigns. Maybe it could be convinced to forsake its human masters and return to the Journey. To serve the Forerunners once again.

Nuso sat passively as more curses and shouts came from the crowds in the seating above. The sound drowned out by his helmets filters.

"I don't get it. How can the Arbiter, the leader of the Elites, be on our side?"

"He isn't. He is a mutual ally. As an AI I thought you could grasp that."

"The nature of biological beings sometimes escapes me."

"We tend to be rather irrational."

"I agree. But this Arbiter truly escapes me as anything but a manipulator."

"I was thinking the same thing. But there have been Elite rebellions in the past."

"I can't blame them. The tyrannical reign of the Prophets formulated under a screwball religion is almost painful to my neural pathways. Of course I can't feel pain so I wouldn't actually feel pain. But the stress would..."

"I get the picture Anubis."

"Ah, yes. Did I start monologing again?"

"Yep."

"Forgive me."

"Consider yourself forgiven. Hold on. Something's happening."

"They're all getting quiet."

"Um, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the ground is trembling."

Nuso slowly looked behind him. Two hunters stood abreast about twenty feet from the exit. As the doors closed the two massive creatures pulled themselves up to full height and flared their spikes. On the normal arm was the massive shield, but on the other there wasn't a fuel rod cannon. It was a gauntlet of some kind, and protruding from it was a strange looking, but obviously deadly bladed weapon. It resembled an axe and a sword thrown into a blender.

"I am going to die."

"You can take hunters, they aren't that tough."

"Have you noticed yet that all the weak spots are covered in armor? There is zero exposure except for their necks!"

"There is your target then."

"Wonderful."

Nuso dropped the spear and picked up two plasma swords. Their blue blades burned intensely as they ignited.

"Two? Isn't that a little awkward?"

"Yes, but not impossible."

"I hope you know what you're doing."

"Me too."

Nuso swiftly slid under the hunter's shield as it crashed into the dirt in a vain attempt to crush the Elite. He leapt up and slammed a foot down onto the top of the creature's head. It quickly retracted its armored head into its body, almost like a turtle. As it rubbed the spot Nuso jumped up and slammed his feet into the front of its chest. The hunter wobbled slightly, and then fell. It swung its shield and batted Nuso away like a pesky insect.

Nuso did a handspring and slid to a stop on the metal floor of the arena. The other hunter helped its bond up and they both stared ominously at Nuso. Their beady eyes held no malice, no resent, just determination.

Nuso held his swords at the ready, his adrenaline pumping and his heartbeat rising. This would be the hardest fight he had ever fought. The hunters just seemed to watch him. Waiting for him to make the first move. They were big, very big. They weren't hunched down in their battle stances as they usually are while fighting. To Nuso they were just big jungle gyms. Just like the Colonel's obstacle course, which Nuso had thoroughly humiliated and caused the Colonel to request a much harder set of barriers to get through.

Nuso ran forwards, quickly hitting almost forty miles an hour with his long, loping stride. He hopped up and spread his legs in an almost splits fashion, clearing the hunters easily. They quickly swung their shields behind them to dissuade Nuso from trying it that way, but he was already moving around. He leapt on the first hunter's back, wary of the sharp spines. He activated his stunner and the two, four inch metal prongs popped out.

"Hype up the juice Anubis!"

"Roger."

Nuso jammed the prongs under the armor at the neck. The hunter suddenly began to convulse and shake wildly. Then he simply went limp and fell. Making odd huffing noises on the ground.

"I think its snoring."

"No, its breathing heavily. You would to if you were electrocuted."

"I've been electrocuted Anubis. When I was first captured, the tasers, remember? I thought you had read my whole file?"

"Obviously not every bit."

The other hunter looked at his bond and slowly edged up to it. He nudged it with his shield and it stirred slightly, but didn't wake. It turned to Nuso and started making strange clicking and buzzing sounds.

"I think it's talking to us."

"Thanks for stating the obvious Anubis."

"Doing my job."

"Aren't we all."

The hunter shook itself then charged forwards. Nuso dropped to the ground and the tank-like alien tried to turn quickly to catch him, but lost its balance on the metal floor and fell. It jumped up, a seemingly impossible task in all the armor, and brandished its blade weapon. It swung it down on Nuso, who quickly raised his swords in defense. The weapons met and Nuso felt himself being slowly forced down. He quickly released some pressure and dropped. The hunter's own strength pushed Nuso under its legs and behind the behemoth.

Nuso jumped up onto its back and flipped upwards. He grabbed its head and held on tight. As he fell forwards Nuso slowly began to take the hunter with him. When his feet hit the ground Nuso pulled hard. He pitched the hunter over his shoulder and slammed it onto the metal floor, denting it. The hunter stirred, then laid still, unconscious.

The Prophet was as equally surprised as the audience. No Elite had ever been able to defeat two hunters in hand-to-hand combat. Almost nothing could. But he had seen with his own eyes the Elite beat the hunters into full blown unconsciousness.

"Arbiter."

"Yes your grace?"

"Have any Brutes volunteered to test their luck against this formidable warrior?"

"Three my lord."

"Then let them have at him. He has only rendered his opponents unconscious so far, I see no reason to worry for the Brute's safety."

Nuso picked up a spear and placed it on his back. He took a second and spun it around before resting it on his shoulder. He had put away the swords and was more content with the range of the spears. As he was fiddling with the different weapons a door opened behind him. The motion registered with his tracker, but he stayed where he was, hoping to catch the approaching enemies off guard.

"Anubis. Heat signatures?"

"They're Brutes."

"Perfect."

As the Brutes approached, Nuso gripped the spear tighter. He then spun around and hurled it with all his strength. It caught one Brute in the chest and propelled him into the wall. The spear blade held it to the wall. It struggled for a moment before going limp. Nuso quickly grabbed the spear on his back and brandished it. The Brutes had wicked looking sickle like blades on their forearms. They were blades from the butt ends of the Brute Shot grenade launchers, only without the deadly firearm attached.

"Great. One down, two to go."

As the Brutes attacked Nuso spun the spear in a figure eight around his body. Preventing any attack from the front or sides. But the defense was restricting his movement, and one Brute was moving around behind him. Nuso stopped the twirling and cracked the broad side of the spearhead onto the Brute's helmet. The helmet shattered and the Brute held its head in pain.

"Wow, that was easier than I thought."

"The Brute isn't dead yet."

"I meant the helmet. Like it was made of glass or something."

"Probably the 'or something' part."

Nuso ducked under a strong, but flawed swing from the Brute that was still standing. Nuso protracted his wrist knife and jammed it into the Brute's throat and twisted the blade around. He pulled it out and black blood gushed from the wound. After a few moments the Brute was dead. Only one remained, but it wasn't intent on being gutted.

"It's grabbing the hunter's arm-blade."

"Yes, I can see that Anubis. Watch this. I'd have never known this would be so easy."

As the Brute charged, it roared as loud as it could. Nuso simply stood there, an ignited plasma sword in his hand. As the Brute closed in he pulled his arm back and flung the sword. It glowed slightly brighter as it flew, the fail-safe activated. It punched straight into the Brute's chest and "popped." The Brute roared in pain and held its chest. The wound was cauterized, but it had cooked the Brute's skin around that area, and the two prongs that had penetrated had likely gone through organs. The Brute began to stubble about, dazed and confused. It finally collapsed, wheezed and laid still. It's internal organs fried.

This time the crowd was silent. Everything that had been thrown at this Elite had been dealt with almost easily. Nuso sat back down and began to bob his head up and down like he did when he wasn't doing anything. Truth emerged from his spectator's box and raised his hands for the attention of the whole arena.

"You are a magnificent fighter Sangheili. But your overconfidence will be your undoing."

"I have shown no overconfidence." Nuso's voice boomed, amplified by his suit's com projectors. "I have shown quite the opposite."

"You have shown to us that you are a warrior of unparalleled ability, strength and cunning. But we hold the trump card for forcing your obedience. You have a deep desire to save the lives of the human prisoners we hold. We have no intention of killing them, but will be forced to if you do not cooperate. You will go with the Arbiter and his guard. They will escort you to a ship where you will be transported to the holy city of High Charity. There your fate will be decided by the council."

"How do I know you won't kill the innocents after I am gone?"

"For that you have my word."

"Your word is lower than dirt to me. You lie."

"You dare accuse me of lying! Do you not know who you speak to!"

"An overzealous windbag who is too cowardly to fight for himself. He uses others as pawns."

"You will be silent!"

"I see no reason in which I should be silent. You see, I hold the cards in this. You have two choices. You let me go, with the civilians and I won't do anything rash. You kill a single one of them and I will kill you, as slowly and painfully as I can possibly manage. Then I'll move on. To this city, High Charity. I'll blend in, become invisible, disappear. I'll move through the shadows, then WHAM! No more High Charity. No more Covenant."

"No single warrior will ever bring down the Covenant."

"I sense fear in your voice prophet. Won't the all powerful Forerunners protect you from the big evil Sangheili? You sicken me. You all sicken me! You fight for something of which you know nothing about! You fight and fight, but you know nothing of the goal which you seek!"

"We seek everlasting redemption! The Great Journey!" Truth yelled back, his voice amplified as well, though not as strongly as Nuso's.

"The Great Journey? Halo? Halo is gone, destroyed. There is no more Great Journey for you."

"There are other holy rings."

This caught Nuso off guard.

"Others?"

"Yes, many others. We will move from each and every one till we gain our nirvana. Then the human abominations shall be destroyed and we will all live in paradise."

Nuso snickered, then a slight laugh escaped his suit's speakers. Then he began to almost choke with laughter.

"What do you find so funny?"

"You're babbling religious nonsense to me? I couldn't care less! I'm the enemy, remember!"

"You still have the choice of redemption."

"I'd rather chew on plasma."

"That can be arranged."

Several shade turrets popped out from the ceiling and aimed down at Nuso. He stared up at them, his features hidden behind the helmet. But what the Prophet was sure was fear hiding behind the armor was actually a snickering grin.

"Destroy the heretic!"

The shades fired away. The purple bolts melting into the metal. But not a single bolt found its mark. Nuso would slide, jump or just dodge out of the way with ease. The gunners were just too slow to compensate for his swift reflexes.

"Anubis. Access the arena's lighting system. Give me some darkness so my cloak can turn on without them knowing."

"You got it boss."

The lights suddenly shut off and a great panic went up from the spectators. After a few moments they reactivated, but the arena was empty of Nuso.

"Where has he gone? Find him!"

Nuso had actually not moved a muscle since the lights had switched off. His multi-phased cloaking field did its job well. Several grunts and Jackals ran into the arena and pulled the Honor Guard's unconscious bodies out, and at the same time letting out a very dangerous enemy hell-bent on severe harm coming to the Prophet of Truth.


	12. Jailbreak!

"I don't want excuses Arbiter! I want results!"

"I'm sorry my lord, but he is nowhere to be found."

"Execute a human. That will bring him out."

"The prison section's blast doors have been jammed shut. We cannot reach them."

"There is a small armies worth of heretics in there! If he releases them there will be hell to pay!"

"The prison section has been shut down for some time now. As have several armories."

"Is this whole station full of incompetent, mindless grunts! Make a door!"

"Yes my lord."

* * *

Nuso walked up and down inside the main prison hold. The room was huge, and the several levels surrounding the grav lift down from above made it the easiest defendable spot he could imagine. He stared at his troops. Most of them Elites and Grunts, a few Jackals that were more noisy than helpful, and a single Hunter.

"I am Nuso Kerumee. I've released you for one reason. You have all forsaken the lies of the Prophets. And now you get the chance to fight back."

"How?" An Elite asked.

"I have captured several armories in this prison section. From there we can arm ourselves.Set up defenses against the inevitable attack on our little place here."

"How can we fight all the troops this facility holds?"

"That grav lift is the only way in or out. Both an advantage and a disadvantage. That means only a small amount of troops can come down at one time. If we can lay down enough fire we should be able to hold them back long enough for me to slice through enough systems to ensure us safe passage."

"What do you mean by safe passage? This is a space station. How can we leave?"

"There is a large, powerfuldestroyer docked on this station. The Adamant Shield. We can take it and use it for our own purposes. Such as escaping. It can be done."

One Elite stepped up. He was slightly older in years, but was muscular and had the physique of a soldier.

"If we set up four patterns of suppressive fire than it should give you time."

"And you are?"

"Former Fleet Commander Kelax Hursomee. Also former rebellion organizer. I was there when Halo was destroyed. When I saw it go, when I saw the explosion, I knew it. I knew that the Prophets had lied to us."

Another Elite stepped forward, this one smaller, but still quiteformidable.

"Exiled Ossoona Fess Zeramee. I was a master sniper before my banishment. I've been out of action for a while, but would be glad to take up arms against the Covenant."

"What did you do?" Kelax asked.

"I assassinated a Prophet. I put a plasma grenade in his lap."

The whole group roared with laughter.

"I'm sure his face was priceless when the fuse ran out!"

"It was sure better than the Honor Guard's!"

Again laughter rose up. But Nuso raised his hand for silence.

"Zeramee, Hursomee, organize these ragged prisoners into proper soldiers. Set up a proper defense and get yourselves in some armor."

"Where are you going?"

"To free the last group."

"The humans? They are only pups. Let them stay there."

"I don't like your tone Elite. I swore an oath to protect any innocent civilian that was in my power to save. I am not going against that oath now"

"I understand."

"Alright then. Now move!"

The huge group of prisoners all rushed to the different armories, gearing up for the attack. They set up plasma turrets, rigged mines, grenades and other weapons. Soon enough they had a perfect defensive perimeter set up and ready for combat.

As Nuso made his way up to the top level he noticed the Hunter was following him.

"Something on your mind Lekgolo?"

"My name is Cexor Seknett Ist'olo."

"I am honored. You had a question no doubt?"

"Yes. Why do you help the small ones?"

"The humans?"

"Yes."

"Because it is the right thing to do."

The Hunter made a huffing sound and straightened up. Without armor it seemed a lot smaller, but still quite intimidating. Its voice was quite deep and it had a little trouble speaking the same language as Nuso, but it managed.

"What do you mean, the right thing to do?"

"When you feel something is right, and you know it should be done. That is the right thing to do. It has to do with conscience."

"I have known few Sangheili who did what their conscience told them, and not what their Prophet told them."

"I see. Don't you have a bond brother?"

"He died."

"I'm sorry."

"So am I. That is why I am here. Irefused to coorperateafter I was told to fight again without a bond."

"Is it hard?"

"It is difficult to fight without one to assist you. You would not understand."

"I would not be so hasty to make assumptions.But if you'll excuse me,I have business to attend to."

"And I must prepare for the coming battle. I can already hear plasma beams drilling through the doors at the upper base of the lift."

"Then we don't have much time.And I have prisoners to retrieve."

Nuso turned andwalked into theroom. Hestared at the different cells, figuring the humans were in the far left section.

"Anyone in here?"

"Who's there?"

" A friend. I'll let you out."

He hit the cell switch at the gates popped open. A boy of about seventeen jumped out quickly.

"Woah! Great, big, Elite guy!"

"It's okay, he's a friend!" A familiar voice said.

"Samantha?"

"Hey Nuso."

"Hey, um, Nuso. From what Sam here tells us you're a pretty nice guy."

"I imagine so."

"So, be a nice guy and find us some clothes."

Nuso laughed and nodded his head. After he had grabbed somearmor setsfor them he sat down at the edge of the upper levelwith his feet dangling overledge. He kicked them slightly and it made him look almost childish.

"This armor you gave me is uncomfortable."

"That's because it was designed to fit Elites, not humans."

"Well, just don't make me wear the helmet."

"We'd never be able to get your head back out."

"Yeah. I guess so. Name's Josh."

"Nuso Kerumee."

"So, you're a Spartan?Like the ones on the Holocom?"

"Well, not really. I am designated as one, but I'm not one of them. I'm an Elite. I'm an outcast in those ranks."

"I see. Well. I guess I don't have any choice but to help fight."

"You can't fight. You probably don't even know how to fire a plasma pistol."

"I can learn."

"It would take more time than we have to make you a competent soldier."

"Point and shoot."

"Ah, yes. No time. Here's the crash course. Point, push this switch to fire."

"Is that it?"

"Yep."

"What are you using?"

Nuso held up two plasma rifles and spun them around on his fingers.

"Cool."

Kexor ran up, interrupting the little conversation. His black armor glimmering almost hypnotically in the purple light of the station.

"Well?"

"We have only moments before they break through."

"The females are defenseless. Place them in the rear to keep out of harm's way."

"Understood."

Nuso kneeled behind one of the many cargo crates that had been turned onto its side as cover. The grav lift activated and two Brutes and several Jackals floated down. One Brute had the red flag marker of a weapons chief. In his hands the powerful Brute Shot grenade launcher.

"Heretics! Surrender your arms! You cannot win!"

Nuso deactivated his projector com and activated his targeting computers.

"Anubis. How's that slicing going?"

"Almost there."

"Hurry. We have no more time!"

"I've got interior turret control."

"Good."

The shades in the ceiling and walls opened up and aimed down at the grav lift.

"Last chance traitors!"

A blue ball suddenly flew through the air. It landed on the back of the chief's head and he roared before half his body was evaporated in a blue burst of flames. A swarm of plasma fire rained down on the lift base. The small group of Covenant soldiers stood no chance and were quickly incinerated.

"Nuso, large groups of motion coming down the lift."

"Thanks for the tip Anubis."

Nuso stood slightly.

"Here they come!"

An entire platoon landed on the pad and several worker Grunts attempted to set up small plasma cannons. But the shades quickly took them out.

"Your aim is getting better Anubis."

"My aim never lacked."

"Who's the soldier here?"

"You are. I'm the combat AI."

"Point taken."

Nuso jumped up and let loose a small burst from his rifles. The plasma bolts caught two grunts in the back and melted into their breath controls. The plasma ignited their methane stores and their environment suits erupted in brilliant explosions.

"Aim for the methane tanks on the grunts! They're volatile to plasma!"

As the mass of plasma fire continued down onto the incoming troops Nuso dropped back to let his rifles cool off. He saw a massive force of Brutes coming down the lift. If they reached the bottom their brute shots would lay waste to the prisoners.

"Anubis! Hack through these systems! I don't care how many things you break! Shut down that lift!"

The lift began to sputter, then it shut down completely. Sending several dozen Brutes to their deaths.

"Alright! Fess, Kelax, get this ragged group of prison rats moving like real warriors. Up the grav lift and hold the drop area."

The two Elite leaders nodded and quickly made the Grunts and Elites work as one group. Soon enough they had a proper strike force against the troops above.

"I'll be going up first. My armor is the most resistant."

"Are you sure Kerumee?"

"I am always sure. Give me that fuel rod cannon."

Nuso jumped onto the grav pad and it activated. He was sucked upwards at an incredible rate. Once he reached the top he sprayed the small receiving room with plasma fire. There had been several Jackals guarding it, but they were nothing but cooked meat now.

"Clear!"

He looked through the destroyed door and saw an entire platoon of Brutes and Elites waiting. He didn't want to kill his own, but if he had to he would. He pulled the fuel rod cannon off his back and aimed it. He pulled the firing stud and the launcher jumped as a spurt of green plasma shot out. He fired again and again until the weapon was empty of rounds. The platoon was nothing more than a pile of bodies now.

As prisoners began to reach the top and spread out in covering formations Nuso ran forwards on point. He looked down passages and corridors. Most of them were empty. Though a few had a Jackal or two, none of the opposition was of any threat.

"Anubis, where is the ship?"

"Ahead, down the left passage and through to the docking bay. It's only lightly guarded though. Odd."

"I sense a trap. I'll go in first."

"How honorable of you."

Nuso ran ahead to the entrance to the docking bay. Looking inside he saw a platoon of Elites guarding the airlock.

"Too easy. Anubis, what can you tell me?"

"I'm looking, but I'm not seeing anything. Wait. Those doorways on the upper floors. They're locked."

"So?"

"So why is this door not locked?"

"We're going to get sniped aren't we?"

"I'm trying to cut into the systems but there is a lot of interference. Other AIs. Nothing I can't handle."

"What are you doing?"

"Fusing the door's mechanisms with overloads. Sealing them shut."

"Good. That'll hold them for a bit. Just what we need."

Nuso turned and made three quick hand motions. Two Elites moved up with beam rifles and trained them on the platoon below.

"Try not to shoot terminally. Wait for our signal."

The snipers nodded.

"Squad one, move out to the left. Squad two, the right. My squad, move down the ramps as stealthily as possible."

As the prisoners moved slowly out over the docking bay's middle section, Nuso made his way to the ramp leading down to the airlock.

"Set the plasma grenades for full burn. It will cause a massive amount of light, but won't permanently harm. Like a super flash grenade."

"Understood." The Elite next to him whispered.

As they configured the grenades, one of the Grunts lost his footing on the ramp and slipped. He rolled down the slick metal to the bottom section.

"Uh oh." Nuso heard one of the other Grunts mutter.

Plasma fire came from below, and the Grunt yelped.

"Now!"

Nuso chucked the two flash grenades and everything turned white. He blinked, his helmet was having a hard time filtering out the light. After a second everything dimmed back to normal lighting. Beam rifle discharges went off and Nuso leapt out from behind the cargo crate he had been hunkered behind.

One Elite was wondering around, blinded by the grenades. Nuso stuck it with his stunner. The Elite shook for a moment before falling over. Another was simply firing its rifle wildly in the air, but a purple beam hit it in the knee and it fell down, holding its charred leg. Nuso slammed his fist into one of the last standing Elite's chest, cracking its armor and sending it about five feet into the air.

"Everyone on board!"

A thumping sound could be heard from above. The doors were beginning to dent.

"They're coming through! Get on and blast off! I have other matters to attend to!"

"Where are you going!"

"I'm going after Truth! I'll catch up! Go!"

The prisoners piled through the airlock and closed it. The destroyer outside detached from the station and moved away quickly.

"I hope you know what you're doing Nuso."

"That makes two of us."


	13. Business, Only Business

The prisoners piled through the airlock and closed it. The destroyer outside detached from the station and moved away quickly.

"I hope you know what you're doing Nuso."

"That makes two of us."

* * *

"Arbiter, I don't want any more excuses! Just kill them!" 

"I am sorry holy one but the prisoners have escaped on the Adamant Shield."

"My flagship? Why would they steal my flagship?"

"It is one of the most heavily armed and armored battleship we have ever produced."

"This is unacceptable. Return what is mine and finish the job!"

"We cannot. This station's weapons are not powerful enough to damage the ship's shields. We cannot land any boarding craft."

"What about the Bore craft?"

"They are being incinerated by the ship's many plasma cannon arrays."

"Are they coming around for an attack?"

"No. They are simply hanging there. A frigate tried to make a pass but was sliced in two by the Shield's primary weapon."

"How many plasma torpedo tubes does the Shield have?"

"Six."

"And none have been fired?"

"They are armed, but not active."

Truth sighed and rubbed his forehead.

"I'm sure Regret would have a few things to say about this right now."

"Thankfully he is not here."

"Watch your tone Arbiter. He may not be the most popular of the hierarchs, but he is not to be slandered against."

"My apologies."

The Arbiter placed his hand against the side of his head and listened to his comlink.

"Prophet. The Sangheili from before, the traitor is still on board the station."

"He is?"

"He just pulverized the honor guards in the fifth hallway."

"Where is he now?"

"Right here!" A voice roared from above.

Nuso swung down on a power conduit from the ceiling and connected his feet onto the Arbiter's chest. The Arbiter slammed into the wall and dropped down. He grimaced as he tried to pick himself up, but fell back down. His arm bent at an aweful angle.

"Now. Truth. We have a few things to talk about."

"You dare to threaten the Hierarch Truth? I am the sacred leader of the Covenant!"

"Blah blah blah. Shut your pie hole. I ask the questions, you answer them. If I don't get the answer I want, bad things happen."

"I will answer nothing."

"Okay."

Nuso made a grab for the prophet, but was hit by a golden beam of energy. He was thrown back, pulled a handspring and landed on his feet.

"You think I am defenseless?"

"Should've figured that chair would have some kind of weapons system in it."

Nuso ran forwards. The beam fired out again, but missed as Nuso ran up along the wall and cartwheeled off, landing right on the front of Truth's chair.

"Stay away from me!"

Nuso grabbed the prophet's robes and pulled him out of the chair. Without Truth's controlthe chair dropped to the ground and thearm-rest panels burst into flames as Nuso landed on top of them.

"You're coming with me."

"Arbiter! Help me!"

Nuso looked back at the Arbiter. He was standing, holding his left arm. It was now limp, probably snapped in two like a twig from Nuso's kick.

"Well Arbiter? Are you going to stand there or are you going to help your prophet? One of those choices results in your death. The other is slightly less violent."

The Arbiter looked determined, but after a moment his features changed. He had an almost guilty look on his face.

"No, no, no, no, no! Don't let him take me!"

"Shut up. I'm getting tired of your bantering."

Nuso jabbed the prophet with his stunner. Truth went limp and Nuso dropped him on his shoulder. He hit his active-camouflage and moved down the hallways quickly. He finally reached the fighter bay and jumped onto a Scarab. Climbing inside he dropped Truth into the gunner's seat and tied him to it.

"Anubis, take gunnery control. Hack this system and give me full control while you're at it. Stupid thing is code locked."

"You've got it."

Nuso powered the ship up and lifted from the docking harness.

"Open the fighter bay doors."

"They won't respond. The connections have been severed."

"Fire plasma guns at it, see what happens."

The Scarab's guns hit the door, but barely scratched it.

"Contact the others and give the position of the hanger door. Give it some plasma cannon fire."

"Watch your head."

A heavy thumping sound came from the door. It began to glow a light crimson for a moment, then a massive hole was blown open in it. Nuso punched the throttle immediatelyand shot out of the station. Several plasma cannons on the station trained onto him and were about to fire.

"Covenant station. I have the Prophet of Truth. If you fire you will kill your Hierarch. The choice is yours."

"Nice speech. Very blunt."

"Hey guys, open the shields around the hanger bay and open the doors. I've got what I need."

"The welcome mat is out for you Nuso."

"Samantha?"

"I'm on the com rig. The bridge has quite a few stations that need controllers. We'll need Anubis to help us out, so you'd better hurry."

"How'd you know about Anubis?"

"He called us just a few seconds ago."

"Oh, right. I knew that."

Nuso quickly made it to the hanger and locked the fighter onto the harness. Two Elites walked up and took Truth out. They held him by his arms about four feet off the ground.The Prophet wasn't going anywhere.

"Take him to the brig. Anubis, any AIs to worry about?"

"No, this ship is clean."

"How about stowaways?"

"Scanning. A remnant is in the engine room. Rerouting life support from engineering."

"Alright. You two guard the Prophet in the brig. I'm heading to the bridge. Anubis, integrate yourself into this ship's mainstream network."

"Roger."

Nuso walked down the hallways as he made his way towards the bridge. The interior was more of an indigo than a purple. Nuso touched the wall and ran his fingers along it. It was grooved slightly.

"Weird design."

"Nuso."

"What now?"

"I can't access the ship's slipspace systems. They've been cut off from the rest of the ship. I'll need..."

"For me to go down there and put you in manually then reconnect the systems. Been there done that."

"You're starting to predict me. This isn't good."

"What can I say, you're predictable."

Nuso stepped onto a grav-lift and rode it down to the engine sections.

"Remember, there is no air down there. You'll be on interior tanks only."

"Than I've got, oh say, about forty-six hours of oxygen left."

"Seal your suit."

"Done."

Once he stepped out of the lift the door closed behind him. He looked around the large, expansive room. There were coolant pipes, reactor cores and other machinery. After a bit of searching he saw one that looked important.

"I've never read any interior schematics on a ship like this one Anubis. What is that?"

"The quantum singularity drive."

"The what?"

"Accessing. I couldn't insert myself into the slipspace drive because there isn't one."

"How is that?"

"This ship is able to literally push open a rift between space and time. A dimension outside of our own and move through it via a singularity."

"A black hole? Are you telling me this thing uses black holes as transport?"

"Creating an event horizon that collapses once the drive's influence has ceased. Ingenious."

"Is it Forerunner tech?"

"No, it's something else. The Forerunners couldn't have built this. Someone else did."

"Did the Covenant?"

"Not possible. The Covenant are not creative in building technology. They use the Forerunner's. I'm accessing the data banks now. The race that created that drive have no name on file. The Covenant call them the Riktu'Navous."

"Death's Shadow?"

"Correct. They were a race of unbelievable technological achievement. Maybe even more advanced than the Forerunners."

"Let me guess, there was a war."

"No. The Forerunners did not provoke the Riktu'Navous. They lived in relative peace."

"Then why are there no Riktu'Navous now?"

"I don't know. Maybe they were wiped out when Halo was activated."

"Probably. So, how do I turn this singularity drive on?"

"I'm working on it. Those panels there. Reconnect the conduits and then place your hand on the control screen."

"... Okay, done."

"I've got full control. Now to get you to the bridge."

"How long will that take?"

"This ship was an extensive teleportation network running through it. Maybe so engineers could move quickly from one system to another. Stand by..."

In a flash of light Nuso was standing in the bridge. The others looked at him for a momentthen went back to their work.Obviously things suddenly appearing in a flash of light weren't very surprising anymore.

"Where do I get to sit?"

"Commander's chair. Take a seat."

"Thank you. Anubis, how about you get us moving."

"Singularity drive online. Here we go."

A blue vortex appeared in front of them and the Adamant Shield moved towards it. In a flash the Shield shot through the event horizon and the vortex closed.

"Hoooooollly crrrraaaaap!" Nuso heard Josh yell, but his voice was distorted to an odd tone.

They were in some form of wormhole. And it was going by at remarkable speed.

"We will reach our destination in ten minutes."

Everyone was holding onto the stations for dear life. After what seemed forever the wormhole ended and the ship shot out of a second vortex.

"Where are we?"

"Haspice Four. Covenant fleet detected. Sending proper response codes. They're wondering why the Prophet of Truth has come to fight."

"Tell them the prophet sent his ship to assist. He stayed on whatever station we just left."

"Sending signal."

Nuso gathered his Elite commanders together.

"You all stay here. Only I can go down. Do what you can to keep the ships up here at bay. Fight, banter, I don't care."

"We'll see what we can do."

Nuso nodded and flashed with golden light as he teleported. He rematerialized inside of a rather cramped space.

"Uh, Anubis. Where am I?"

"Covenant HEV pod. Have a nice trip."

"Huh?Wait, hold on..."

The pod thumped and Nuso suddenly found his stomach going into his throat, again. The exact same feeling came as he shot towards the surface. After a few moments he hit something solid. He clenched his fists and got ready for a fight. He kicked the HEV pod open andflung himselfout.

"Wow. What a dump. This place is trashed."

"I've estimated you're about three hundred feet east of the remnant of the human resistance."

"Any Spartan code signals?"

"Two, plus a few others I haven't seen before. The com system is encoded. I can't access it at this point."

"Figures. And I thought I was landing in enemy territory. Shoulda brought a gun."

Nuso looked up at the sky, breathed deeply than began his trek towards friendly lines.

"Wrong way Nuso."

"Right, I knew that. Just got turned around, that's all."

"Riiiight."

Nuso looked over a large piece of rubble and saw familiar artillery guns firing.

"Hey, eight inchers. Looks like Jesse is still putting up a fight. Wait, what's that?"

"I believe it is a Brute."

"Uh uh, I just got here. No way are those marines getting thrashed now."

Nuso jumped over the rubble and sprinted towards the guns. The marines saw him and raised their weapons. But instead of stopped, he ran right past them and tackled the Brute right before it threw a plasma grenade. Nuso jammed his wrist knife into the Brute's forehead and jumped away.

"Don't shoot! I'm friendly!" Nuso yelled right as the grenade went off behind him.

The marines looked at one another, then opened fire. The bullets bounced against Nuso's shields and he looked at its meter. It was slowly going down. He took cover behind a demolished Scorpion tank as bullet pelted the ground around him.

"Don't shoot! Don't shoot!"

"It's a trick! Take it out!"

Nuso shook his head and clenched his fists. This wasn't going to look good on his record. He rushed out from behind the destroyed tank and systematically knocked over all the marines around the cannons. The gunnery crews didn't even flinch as Nuso wiped their guards out. Nuso was extra careful to only knock them out and not cause any damage.

The gunners probably thought they were going to die, so they did their best to keep feeding the guns as quickly as possible. But Nuso didn't attack them. In fact, he ran over to a vacant artillery piece and started firing it.

"What are you doing!" One yelled at him.

"Spartan-X-zero-one reporting for duty!"

"You're X-zero-one! Alright, whatever! Target coordinates point seven four seven, mark two!"

"Adjusting!"

Nuso hit the firing stud and the large cannon bounced as it released another shell. The recoil chucked the empty shell and Nuso quickly jammed another in.

"Nuso, incoming motion, and a lot of it!"

"I'm busy!"

"You won't be anymore if it reaches you. I'm detecting a Wraith!"

"Aw come on! Can't anything ever be easy!"

Nuso fired the cannon one last time before kicking its carrier rig. The bolts snapped and the cannon came loose.

"What are you doing?"

"Something I've wanted to do for all too long!"

Nuso shouldered the massive artillery piece and locked the receiver into place. He waited for several seconds. There was the Wraith; it was attempting to rise over a blockade on the road next to the artillery grounds.

"Adios suckers!"

Nuso hit the firing stud with the back of his head and the cannon fired. The recoil alone lifted Nuso off the ground and sent him flying into the side of a building.

"WOO HOO! I gotta do that again!"

"Where's the eight incher?"

"How should I know? That thing could've blown a hole through anything. Did I get the Wraith?"

"Look at the crater, you tell me."

"Wow, that's big. New record for me. Dimensions appear to be thirty-seven feet diameter, and twenty-three deep."

Nuso looked up and saw several dark blue balls of plasma coming arcing slowly towards them.

"Incoming artillery! Clear the guns, get out of there!"

The marines didn't need to be told twice. They dove behind barriers and other obstacles as the plasma rounds blew apart the artillery pieces. Nuso felt the plasma licking at his shields as he covered his head with his hands.

"HQ, this is fire control alpha. All guns have been neutralized. Please advise."

"Return to HQ. We need all the hands we can get holding off these drones! They keep swarming out of the buildings!"

Nuso waved for the marines to follow and he jumped over a metal slab that was jutting up from the ground. The marines followed him as quickly as they could. Nuso rolled down a steep piece of permacrete and snatched a M6E up from the ground at the same time. At least now he was armed. He checked the clip on the powerful handgun and found it only had two rounds left.

"Any of you guys have some M6E clips?"

"I do! Here!"

The marine tossed an entire satchel to Nuso. He caught it and slammed a new clip into his pistol and holstered it. As he moved quickly through the wreckage he began to see more and more fighting. Then he saw something he hadn't expected.

"Hey, there's another Spartan!" One marine yelled and pointed.

Nuso saw a plasma mortar coming down on the Spartan's position.

"GET OUT OF THERE!" He screamed.

Nuso, without even thinking sprinted towards the Spartan. In less than a second the mortar would hit. Nuso collided with the Spartan and they both slammed through a stone wall right as the mortar detonated behind them.

"Who the heck are you!"

"X-zero-one. Where's One-zero-one?"

"One-zero-one? He's wounded back at HQ. Radiation poisoning. Got hit by a fuel rod bolt."

"Wait a minute. What is your designation?"

"Nine-one."

"Oh you've got to be kidding me. They're sending in flash-clones? No wonder you were stupid enough to let that mortar almost vaporize you."

"I'm, I'm sorry."

"How old are you?"

"Three months."

"At least you can fight. Follow me. And keep up!"

"Yes sir."

Nuso shook his head. He hated vat born soldiers. They didn't have a mind. They were followers to the letter. Just killing machines inside an armored suit. Genetically accelerated growth and downloaded knowledge. The mere thought of it confused Nuso; he had never been very good at genetics. But flash-clone Spartan Twos simply stole away the concept of the rigorous training regimen.

"What is your specialty?"

"Me? I'm a scout."

"A scout? I have no use for a scout."

The clone looked down at the ground. Great, it was a guilty one. Looks like it hadn't been treated very well in the past. No clone ever is. Then again, neither was Nuso. Maybe he had a bit more in common with this clone than he thought. The only clones he had ever met had command types. And they were just a royal pain.

"You have any other talents?"

"I'm a superb vehicle driver and mechanic."

"Oh, really. I have need for someone with skills like that. Can you drive a dropship?"

"Yes sir!"

"Good. Now, there were some marines back there. Escort them back to HQ. I'll move around and keep you covered."

"Yes sir." The clone saluted and marched back over the rubble fields.

Nuso shook his head slowly. His com light came on and he switched the channel on.

"Nuso. This is Samantha."

"Go."

"The other ships are getting restless; some are getting a bit close. Things are about to get pretty sticky up here. But we just got a communiqué that a UNSC battle fleet is on its way."

"Only attack to defend yourselves until the fleet reaches the planet."

"I'll tell Kelax. He took command and is doing an awesome job of it. That and I think this Grunt likes me. He won't let go of my leg."

"Grunts have tendency of being rather, well, eccentric."

"Tell me about it... Lemme go."

Nuso flipped off the com and laughed.

"Broadcasting on all Tango com channels. This is X-zero-one. Can anyone read me?" Nuso spoke through the encrypted com.

"Roger that X-zero-one. This is One-five seven. Good to hear your voice Nuso. We thought you were dead."

"Confirmation before speculation."

"I see Colonel Matthews still has his hold on you."

"Can you tell me anything about Jesse?"

"He took a fuel rod bolt in the back. He should be up and around in a few hours."

"Good. Until then, I have quite the story to tell. After the fighting of course."

"We wouldn't have it any other way. See you at the base."


	14. Discovery

Nuso stood on a broken down bunker and stared out at the rising sun. He clicked his mandibles inside his helmet before getting down to business.

"Anubis, report?"

"There's not much going on through the Covenant BattleNet. Though there is another presence I can't quite lock onto. Wait, I've got it… Oh for the love of God."

"What, what is it?"

"Aaron."

"HOWDY FELLAS!"

Nuso tried to grab for his ears. The sound of it had probably blown out his eardrums.

"Aaron, if I get Jesse's helmet, so help me!"

"Oh come on you big baby. I didn't kill you."

"I'm currently in mourning for my ears."

"Wah, wah, wah."

"You are asking for a death wish."

"Okay okay, enough, both of you. Nuso, cool it. Aaron, stop being yourself for five minutes."

"Can do."

"Grrrr."

"I get the distinct feeling that you don't like me Nuso."

"What was your first clue?"

Nuso pulled out his pistol and checked it. He slugged a rocket launcher and a sniper rifle onto the two weapon harnesses on his back and began to trudge towards the front lines.

"Okay Aaron, what can you tell us?"

"The Covenant are digging. Using some kind of massive drill. Like nothing we've ever seen. I can't access it remotely. It's digging at a rate of one hundred meters an hour, so whatever they're trying to get to is pretty deep. From the bits and pieces I've picked up I imagine it's some kind of weapon. Yay for them, sucks to be us."

"What kind of weapon?"

"The protection of the gods that will rain black fire upon the abominations. Through the holy light of the protector we will achieve the great nirvana that is the Great Journey. Bunch of BS if you ask me."

"Protection? Like armor?"

"Or a shield."

"No Anubis. Raining black fire. Protection. Sounds something like a machine of some kind."

"You have a good assumption sense."

"I guess it helps to have an IQ of two ninety."

"Quit your bragging, my IQ is five thousand." Aaron said with a sarcastic tone.

"You're an AI, numskull."

"Guilty as charged."

"Okay. I'm going undercover, see if I can pick up on anything inside the Covenant's HQ. Anubis. Poly-shift my armor."

"Can't you?"

"No, I don't want to touch any buttons I haven't been told about, yet. I might break something."

"Or turn on a self destruct." Aaron snickered.

"Shut up. And get out of my head."

"Fine, nothing in there anyway."

Nuso smacked his helmet and he felt Aaron's presence recede. Nuso's armor began to change. The armor plates fused, rearranged themselves and finally changed to a red coloring.

"How is it my armor can do that?"

"It isn't real. It's a hologram. The specs just say that because… Well, I don't know why they say that."

"Note to self, never question the sanity of engineers."

"Agreed."

Nuso saw a Ghost coming, and bided his time. The driver seemed to be concentrating on something on the screen in front of him. When he looked up he saw a fist coming at his face. Nuso smacked the Elite right out of the Ghost and sent him rolling through the dust covered ground. Nuso hopped into the Ghost and gunned it.

"Okay, Anubis, find directions to the Covenant main base."

"Seventeen miles due west."

"Got it."

As he pulled the control sticks in the right direction, Nuso got a funny feeling in the back of his mind. He looked exactly like a loyal Elite should. Only he was a bit shorter than the others. That might arouse some unwanted attention.

"Nuso, this is Samantha."

"Go ahead."

"Someone must have leaked word to the other ships from the station. They're moving in to attack."

"Just tell them you have Truth. They'll back off."

"That's the problem. The Elites that were guarding Truth are dead and he's nowhere to be found."

"WHAT!"

Nuso felt like smashing something. He did not go through all that trouble just to let the best hostage in the galaxy slip through his fingers.

"Nuso! Escape pod jettison! It has to be Truth! Should we fire?"

"No. We can't make a martyr. Start shooting any ships that come close to it. Wait for the fleet to arrive and pick him back up."

"Wait… Slipspace rupture! The escape pod is jump capable!"

"Don't let it get through! Block it!"

"We won't get there it time! No! Nuso, he's gone."

The control sticks in Nuso's hands shattered as he squeezed. The Ghost sputtered and Nuso slammed his fist into the control panel. Again, and again he punched it until his hand went into the engine itself. The Ghost exploded into blue flames and Nuso simply back flipped off and let it slam into the ground in a burning heap.

"No need for undercover work. Screw it. I'm wiping these genocide-obsessed fanatics off the face of this planet."

"And how will you do that, pray tell?"

"Shut up Anubis. Do something useful."

Nuso walked over to the destroyed Ghost and tore it open. He pulled the plasma core out and inspected it. Slightly cracked but still serviceable. He extracted the fuel rods from it and began to wire them together with components from his belt. After about thirty minutes of this he finally snapped the small tube closed and stuck it ina pistol holster.

"What is that now?"

"Fuel rods, plus a little homemade ingenuity makes plasma nuke. Four kilotons of death in one small package."

"Do you think you'll need that much boom?"

"I wish I had four megatons"

"Mustn't go overboard now."

Nuso just growled. He had never been this angry. He needed to calm down. Then the words of Colonel Matthews came to his mind.

"Anger is simply an emotion. It is in your mind. Your mind is yours to control. Control your anger, focus it and you'll construct a weapon nothing can abide against."

Nuso breathed deeply and started running over the broken terrain of the city's ruins. After a little over thirty minutes of sprinting he came to a massive crater. There was a cruiser hovering about two hundred meters off the ground and a grav lift leading up to it.

"Anubis, any shields?"

"Not for long. I'll tell you when to throw. I'm setting your shields to overload. It will boost them three hundred percent but burn out the capacitors for a few minutes."

"Easily repaired."

After a few moments the cruiser began to look rather distorted. Then in a flash of light, Nuso saw the shields collapse.

"Now!"

Nuso chucked the tube like a football. It shot out straight and true and landed in the center of the crater. Nuso hadn't noticed an entire base inside the crater. He had been looking at the cruiser. There were buildings, camps, even artillery cannons lining the ground to the edge. Nuso dropped back over the lip and hunkered inside a blown out building.

"Here we go. Three, two, one…"

There was a flash of light, then a vibrating boom like no other sound Nuso had ever heard. His helmet filtered out as much as it could and it was still deafening. Nuso could feel the air seeming to move towards him, then a shockwave blew the entire building apart. Nuso held tight to the ground to keep from being swept away. His shields sparked and sputtered, but held.

Then, there was silence. Nuso slowly picked himself up and looked. The crater was glowing from the heat, and it was a lot deeper. The cruiser was nowhere to be seen, and every single building had been vaporized. Nuso checked his armor. He had completely forgotten about his poly-shifted plating. But the EMP had shorted out the hologram and it had already reverted back to the actual look.

"I win."

"Chalk that one up on your kill board?"

"You bet."

Nuso stared at the crater for a few more moments before turning.

"Oh crap."

He saw something he hadn't expected. Another cruiser was surfacing from the clouds.

"Is that the Shield?" Nuso asked with a bit of unease in his voice.

"No, its too small. It's a CCS class battle cruiser."

"And its launching Phantoms."

"Are we screwed?"

"No… Well, yeah, we're screwed."

"Last words?"

"This sucks?"

"Good enough."

But as the Phantoms spread out from the cruiser, pops of black smoke began to appear around them.

"What is that? Is that flak? Hah ha! Give it to those slime bags!"

"Looks like they've picked up a few AD guns."

"A few? It looks like a fireworks show up there."

"Hold on, the cruiser is attempting to target the guns with its cannons."

"Aaron, Anubis, tear that thing's targeting computers to ribbons!"

"Hey, I heard that!Time to do what i do best. Breakin stuff!" Aaron's voice piped up over the com.

"On it."

Instead of converging on one spot the purple beams began to fire around wildly. Not really hitting anything particular other than dirt.

"See what else you two cantrash. We don't have enough firepower to take that thing out so just stay content with disabling it."

Nuso saw his com channel blink and he opened it.

"What is it Sam?"

"It's the fleet! They're here!"

"Finally. What is the status of the Covenant fleet?"

"We caught them completely off guard! The UNSC ships tore through them with their MAC guns. There's nothing left, no friendly casualties!"

"Wow. Never done that before."

"Wait… Slipspace rift opening. Covenant ships coming through! A whole lot of them!"

"They must want that machine more than I thought. How many?"

"A whole lot!"

"Hold them off as long as you can. Anubis, where's that drill?"

"The entrance hole is at the base of the crater which you just blew apart. I wouldn't be surprised if the EMP knocked the drill out of commission."

"Covenant tech, always shielded."

"True."

Nuso jumped back over the side of the crater and slid down the now very steep sides. He reached the bottom and sprinted towards the center. He reached it quickly and stopped.

"I found the hole. It's big. How far down is the drill?"

"About three miles."

"I'll need something to stop my decent."

"The atmospheric boosters built into your suit's systems. With enough force it should slow you just enough to land relatively unharmed."

"Relatively?"

"Three miles is a long drop."

Nuso shrugged and jumped down. It felt exactly like an HEV pod. Only he had walls around him in the pod. This was freefall.

"I am so going to die."

"Eventually, yes."

"You're not helping."

"Do I ever? I tend to give the brutal truth."

"And for which I thank you. But now is not the time for words like BRUTAL!"

Nuso saw a sliver of blue light below him, and it was coming up fast.

"Hit the jets!"

Nuso instantly felt like he was being crushed. The force of the jets versus gravity. Gravity was winning.

"Can't… Breathe…"

"Then hold your breath."

Nuso could see the drill now. It was huge. Both using oscillating blades and a plasma weapon to eat through the rock. The jets began to sputter.

"Almost out of fuel. Still two hundred meters up."

"Ninety… Meters… Can, land, that…"

"Right."

Nuso saw a control rig on the drill. He could see something moving inside it also. It looked like Brutes. The jets cut out and Nuso returned to freefall. He braced his legs and landed on the control rig. The surface glimmered and looked like it was pulsating. It was the shield.

"Anubis, vitals."

"You just sprained both your knees and ankles. You're fine."

"Administer aid to the injuries. Then match my shield's frequency to the drills'. That should theoretically let me pass right through it."

"Or it might not."

"Pessimist."

"That's my job."

Nuso felt a tingling feeling as his shields began to shift. Then his feet dropped right through the shield.

"Perfect."

"I'm detecting three Brutes inside."

"Just as well."

Nuso slammed his feet down onto the control rig and burst through the hull. He landed on top of a Brute, crushing it.

"Guess weighing three quarters of a ton has its advantages."

Another grabbed a brute shot and was about to fire when Nuso's foot connected with it's chin. There was a wet snap as the Brute's head almost detached from its body. The third was about to tackle Nuso when he spun around with a spinning hook kick. He hit the Brute and crushed it into the hull wall.

"Opposition has been disposed of."

The drill suddenly began to shake slightly.

"Umm, what is that?"

"The drill is breaking into some kind of opening in the ground. Brace for hard drop."

"I'm beginning to despise falling."

The drill suddenly fell from its perch in the rock. After several seconds of falling the drill hit the floor of the cave and dropped onto its side. Nuso quickly scrambled from it and dropped down onto the rocky ground.

"Wow."

Nuso hit his HUD's night vision. It was a large cave system, filled with passages and holes of all shapes and sizes.

"This is unbelievable."

"You're right. This place can't be natural. Everything is in a perfect geometrical alignment. It's way too perfect."

"So, is it Forerunner?"

"I don't think so."

"Riktu'Navous?"

"It seems so. I'm detecting some kind of power source down that way there. Setting waypoint."

"Moving. How big is this place exactly?"

"Unknown, something is scrambling your suit's sensors."

"Natural?"

"No, it's some form of high wave radio signal."

"Radio?"

"Like nothing I've ever seen before. Its waveband is through the roof. Compressed and focused. Like a beam."

"Anubis, snap out of la-la land. The signal is very interesting, but we have other things to worry about."

"The signal is coming from the coordinates of the waypoint. That much I can calculate."

"Any heat signals?"

"Nothing on the scopes."

"Then the most that could be down here is a grunt. I'm scared."

"There can't be anyone down here."

"Yes Anubis, I know."

Nuso turned around a corner to the last stretch towards the waypoint, but instantly ducked back around the corner.

"Anubis, you told me no one was down here."

"I don't understand. The radio signal must be affecting the heat sensors too. Either that or that guy is emitting zero body heat."

Nuso slowly edged up to the figure and tapped it.

"It's because it's a statue."

Nuso looked more closely at it. His eyes got big.

"It's a statue of a human."

"What's that in its hands?"

Nuso looked down. In the statues hands was a small disc-like crystal.

"What is it?"

"You're the smart one Anubis. You tell me."

"It looks like a purple breakfast sausage."

"I'm not eating it."

"Very funny.It also seems to be the source of the signal."

"I wonder what it does."

Nuso picked it up and looked it over in his hand.

"I'd better bring this with me. This has to be what the Covenant were looking for. Otherwise this place would be sheet glass."

"Is it like the crystal found on Reach?"

"I don't think so. This thing isn't turning into some kind of crazy jigsaw puzzle."

"Maybe it does something else."

Nuso walked back to the drill and looked up. He could barely see the opening of the hole even with magnification.

"I seriously wish I could fly."

"Excluding that possibility, what else can we do to get back up?"

The crystal suddenly began to glow in Nuso's hand.

"Is that bad?"

"How should I know?"

"Anubis, as of this point in time, I hate you."

"I get that a lot."

The crystal flashed brightlythen praticallyliquefied. The purple liquid coated Nuso's hands and down his forearms.

"You broke it!"

"I didn't break it! It melted!"

"Wait, what's it doing?"

The purple goo was seeping into Nuso's armor and disappearing into the gel layer.

"It went straight through my armor! Ah! AH! It's cold! Get it off!"

"Your suit's internal sensors aren't detecting anything!"

"It's moving up my arms! Ah! It burns! Get it off! Get it off!" Nuso was practically screaming; he had never felt pain like this before.

"I don't know how!"

Nuso dropped to his knees and grabbed at his helmet. He found the latch and ripped it off. The purple liquid was slowly seeping up his neck and onto his head. His eyes clenched in pain Nuso clawed at the liquid, but it didn't even hinder its spread.

"I... I, can't, breathe!"

The liquid seeped over his eyes and Nuso's world went dark.


	15. The Change

"Nuso! Hey, Nuso! Wake up!" The voice was so far away, it was barely a whisper.

Nuso opened his eyes. What had happened? Why did his entire body hurt so much?

"Wake up already!"

"What?"

There were two green figures standing over him.

"Who... Who are you?"

"What, you don't recognize me? It's Jesse!"

"Jesse?"

"Man he's beat. Grab his helmet over thereand load him on the Pelican. We're going back up."

Strong hands took hold of his arms and legs and lifted him up. He felt himself being placed on something smooth and hard. Then the feeling of weightlessness.

"Where am I?"

"Haspice Four. In a big deep dark cave."

"Who's there?"

"Come on. It's me, Jesse. Stop playing games."

Nuso closed his eyes and breathed deeply.

"Is he asleep?"

"I don't know. What's wrong with him?"

"Have the doctor take a look at him when we get back up."

After a long while Nuso again felt hands lift him and place him down on something. He felt a burning sensation come from his wrist, but it quickly subsided.

"Well?"

"There isn't much I can tell you. He seems fine on the outside."

"Okay. Now for the inside."

"Let me get a blood sample."

The doctor stuck Nuso's arm and a black liquid seeped into the vial.

"What the hell?"

"What is that?"

"Is that his blood?"

"Spartans. Settle down. One- zero-one, please have your men wait outside if they let off any more outbursts like that."

"Outside boys."

"Yes sir." They all saluted and walked out.

"They don't act like other Spartans."

"We're all second generation. Different training instructors. We're a little more human than the first generation batch."

"I see."

"Well. What's with his blood?"

"It seems normal. But it's been fused with something I have never seen before. Some kind of energy pattern that's overwritten some of his DNA."

"Energy pattern?"

"Don't ask me. I'm no scientist."

Nuso's eyes shot open. The doctor jumped back, startled.

"What's wrong with his eyes?"

"Let me see."

The doctor got down and shined a light into Nuso's eyes.

"His pigment cells have changed."

"I can see that. Why are they dark purple?"

"I don't know. It's like something inside his body is rewriting all of his DNA segments to an extent. It's like a xenoforming virus, but its not.This is nothing medical science has ever experienced.Whatever it is, its changing him."

"Why?"

"I don't know. Stop asking ridiculous questions...Help me take his chest plates off."

Jesse unlatched the armor and pulled it off.

"Dear God. What is that?"

Jesse looked down. Nuso's chest was covered by what looked like a spider web of strange purple strings. Not much more than an inch wide each. They were deeply imbedded in his chest and pulsed with a deep glow every so often.

"Doc. Can you take them out?"

"No. They're fused to him. It would be like trying to remove someone's ribcage without killing them. In other words, impossible.Look how they're lodged to his skeletal network."

The doctor scraped a scalpel against one of the slivers of crystal in Nuso's chest and placed the blade under a small microscope.

"No residue. I've never seen anything like this. It's emitting some kind of energy field around it. But there's no residual particles. This is no technology I've ever seen. It's not Covenant, it's not human. I don't know what it is. And I probably never will."

Jesse unlatched his own chest plate and dropped it onto the floor. He sighed and sat down in a metal chair, rubbing his temples.

"Is it killing him?"

"No. But what its purpose is I can't begin to imagine. I'm simply a doctor, not a scientist."

Nuso tilted his head to look at Jesse. He raised a hand weakly and tried to motion for the Spartan to come over.

"Hey. I thing he snapped out of it."

"What? Nuso!"

Jesse jumped up and leapt to the examination table. Nuso tried to talk, but no sound came out of his mouth.

"Why can't he talk?"

"His nerves are all firing. Including his pain receptors. Need I say more?"

"Nuso. Listen to me. If you hadn't come when you did we would have lost the whole colony. You saved everyone. Live through this and they'll pin the Medal of Honor on you. As crazy as that sounds to me...But you have to make it through this. Just hang on."

One of the Spartans poked his head into the medical tent and motioned to Jesse.

"Sir, the Adamant Shield has dropped to grav level and requests you come aboard to speak with its captain."

"I'm on my way. Doc, keep me apprised."

"Will do."

Jesse pulled his armor back on and dropped his helmet onto his head. He sealed the suit and walked out.

"Sir. The captain is an Elite. So be careful."

"Don't worry Nine-one. I'll be fine."

"Should I come with you sir? Just in case?"

"No, you'd better stay on planet and help coordinate the marines for lift."

"... Yes sir."

Jesse shook his head. His back still burned like crazy and he didn't have much patience for bantering. The Adamant Shield's grav was far enough away where Jesse would need a ride. But ever since the marines had begun bulldozing the rubble away, driving vehicles was that much simpler.

"Sir!" The driver of a warthog saluted. "What do you need?"

"Your LRV."

"Fine by me. I got tired of sitting here anyway."

The marine hopped out and Jesse jumped into the seat. He put it into gear and hit the gas. After almost an hour of driving up and down different pathshe finally reached the lift. He slowly got out of the warthog and walked to the pad. It just felt like a horde of Covenant soldiers were just going to leap out an attack. Once he stepped onto the pad he became keenly aware of how fast he shot off the ground. Once he reached the top the grav lift deactivated and the hatch closed.

"Woah! It's a Spartan!"

Jesse spun around to see what looked like a teenaged human boy. Though he was wearing an armored suit and carried a carbine.

"Who are you?"

"Name's Josh. I'm the security chief. I'm to escort you to the bridge."

"You? A security chief? You've got to be kidding."

"Nope. I've been on detail since the battle in space. Been clearing out decks to check for boarding teams that got through our guns. Took care of three already."

"You're just a kid."

"I'm a kid with an attitude. And all I really did was close off the sections and vented the air inside into space. Easy breezy."

"Okay okay. To the bridge. I've got work to do and i have very little time and patience to do it."

"Right."

Josh lifted his forearm and pushed a few buttons on it.

"Here we go."

Jesse saw a flash of golden light and was suddenly standing in a large room filled with holo-screens and other equipment.

"Holy..."

"Hey, a Spartan! Cool!"

Another child. This time a young girl. Though maybe a little older than this Josh kid.

"Hey. Have you seen our friend? He's an Elite. But wears armor that kinda looks like yours. His name's Nuso."

Jesse swallowed hard. Thankfully his armor masked it.

"He's currently, um,indisposed."

"Oh. Well I want him to come our victory party!"

"Party?"

"Enough you two. We still have work to do." A deep voice said from behind them.

Jesse turned to see largest Elite he had ever seen. It towered over him at almost ten feet tall.But it didn't seem at all hostile.Jesse felt a tad at ease, but was still quite uncomfortable being this close to the giant warrior.

"Kelax Hursomee. Commander of this ship."

"One-zero-one. Spartan Two. "

"A pleasure."

"Same. Okay, what's the deal."

"Well. We had originally come here with the Prophet of Truth. But he escaped."

"You what? Truth? You guys had the Prophet of Truth?"

"But he found some way to kill the guards around him and make his way to an escape pod. The pod was slipspace capable. We didn't have a chance to pick him back up."

"Wow. You had a wrap going pretty well though. Huh."

"I don't understand."

"Didn't think so. It's okay. At leastyou were able to steal this ship."

"It's amazing. It's easy to handlewith enough crewmembers. Its shields are very powerful. And its weapons are top notch."

"Too bad ONI is going to want to gut it."

"ONI?"

"Scientists and such."

"Yes. Unfortunate... There issomething I would like to ask you."

"Yes?"

"You've obviously handled Elites before."

"I have."

"What would your leaders do with us? We cannot return to our homes. We're outcasts, heretics."

"I'm sure our intelligence officers would find some use for you. If you'll give information willingly."

"We would."

"Than you'd be treated as refugees. I could have my superiors sign the papers as soon as they come down from orbit."

Kelax nodded and returned to his station. Jesse walked down to the girl's spot and looked at her screens.

"It's in English. How did you get a Covenant holoscreen to read in English?"

"We've got an AI in the system. It's translating the com channels for me. I've been coordinating com traffic for the fleet ever since they got here."

"You? Just you?"

"Josh helps a bit here and there. But it's pretty easy. Point and click."

"Make sure you leave a note on how you're doing that. It might be helpful for the labcoats."

"Okay."

Jesse walked to the center of the bridge and looked at each and every station. It was like no Covenant ship he had ever seen before. And for the moment, it was the only thing on his mind. He was still juststanding there when his com beeped.

"One-zero-one here."

"One-zero one! This is Dr. Cary." Jesse heard glass shatter in the background and his eyes narrowed. "Nuso is awake. But he's going berserk!"

"I'm on my way!" Jesse hit his com and pointed to Josh."Teleport me back to the grav lift. I have to get back down to the planet."

"What's wrong?"

"I don't know yet. Just do it."

Josh nodded and hit several buttons on his wrist gauntlet again and there was the familiar flash of light. Back in the grav room Jesse practically leapt onto the field and dropped like a stone down to the surface. He slowed to a stop mere feet from the pad and settled on it lightly.

"Doc. I'm on my way. Doc? Respond..." Jesse switched off his com and jumped into the warthog.

He pushed it as fast as he could. He cut through several back passages and other treacherous paths to knock some time off from the trip. He succeeded in loweringthe time down to a little under twenty minutes. Though he almost destroyed the jeep in doing so.

He reached the base and pulled himself out and ran down the path towards the medical tent. He rushed through the different temporary buildings till he reached his destination. Jesse threw it open and stopped cold. The entire place was trashed. Everything was broken or overturned and there were two marines on the floor groaning.

"What happened here?"

Neither responded. With closer examination Jesse saw they were covered in what looked like an intricate web of burn marks.

"What the... Doc!"

"I'm here. Though not all of me."

"What happened?"

The doctor pushed a table off of him and stood up. Jesse stepped back slightly. The doctor's left arm was simply a stub, ending at the elbow.

"Don't worry. I lost it a long time ago. Nuso pulled my fake one off."

"When did he wake up?"

"I don't know. How long have I been unconscious?"

"You called me about thirty minutes ago. On the ship."

"Then he woke up about two or three minutes before that. I can't really remember what happened. I must have hit my head. Better check the cameras."

Jesse grabbed one and pulled the chip out. He stuck it in the second slot in his neck. Skipping to the lasttransmissionshe watched as the two marines came in and said something to the doctor. There was no audio so he had to rely on his extremely rustylip reading skills. He couldn't make out what the marines were saying but the doctor didn't agree. Finally they simply shoved the doctor away and attempted to drag Nuso out of the tent. Suddenly Nuso just came awake. He jumped up and slammed himself into a shelf full of utensils. He began to flail around; holding his head in what was quite obviously intensepain.

The marines tried to restrain him but when they touched his arms something like lightning shot over their armor and threw them back.

"What the... Explains the burn marks."

The doctor rushed to the com signal device and Jesse figured that's when he made the call. But Nuso was on him in a second. He threw the doctor into and operating table and it broke apart. With that he ran out and several minutes laterJesse saw himself rush in.

"He looked like he was in pain. Aaron, what can you tell me from the energy readouts the camera picked up."

"All I can tell is that Nuso's BTUs have gone through the roof. His body is producing thirty times more electrical charge than normal and its being discharged through that web of crystal on his chest. Touch him and blammo. Instant barbeque."

"What is that crystal? Did you have enough time earlier to get a proper scan?"

"All I can tell is its made from the same material as the Index."

"The what?"

"Didn't you read One-one-seven's report? The Index is the key that activates Halo. Its made from the same material, but its totally different technology. Its familiar but its not.Its cooking my processors.I can't put my finger on it."

"What are you telling me?"

"It was made to look exactly like a Forerunner relic. But its not Forerunner technology. Like someone wanted for it to be mistaken as something else."

"A trap? A trick? Why would someone do that?"

"Why would the Forerunners build a big ring that kills everything in the universe? Some questions can't be answered with words."

Jesse sighed and stepped out.

"I can't calculate which direction he went in. He's gone Jesse."

"But he's still wearing parts of his armor. The waist down pieces and the right arm. Can we track those?"

"I don't think so. But that also means he doesn't have Anubis, shields or his cloak. He's a seven and a half foot tall blue alien with dark purple crystals imbedded in his skin. So very hard to spot."

"But he's also faster than me. And stronger. If he's gone nuts I don't want to tangle with him."

"I don't think you'll have to."

"Why?"

"Because an alarm just went off in the hanger. Someone's stealing a Pelican."

"What? It has to be Nuso. But what the hell is he doing?"

"I don't know. But there he goes."

Jesse looked up as the dropship shot over the HQ site and towards the ruined city.

"He's heading towards the Adamant Shield!"

"I justput a Longsword on standby. Jesse, go!"

Jesse tore down the path towards the hanger. He practically jumped into the fighter and powered it up before he even sat down. The pilot's seat was uncomfortable, but that was the last thing on Jesse's mind.

"If Nuso's gone nuts and he gets control of that ship we're screwed."

"Are you going to shoot him down?"

"I hope not. He's the only real friend I've ever had."

"This is business Jesse. Don't let your feelings get in the way."

"Shut up you hypocrite. I don't need a lecture on how to do my job."

Jesse hit the boosters and shot out of the hanger as fast as he could get the interceptor to go.

"I see the Pelican. Its aiming for the Shield's rear hanger. Get that girl on the com and tell them to raise shields!"

"I can't. We're being jammed."

"Cut through it!"

"Again, I can't. This is like no jamming signal I've ever seen. Its completely scrambling anything I send. Something like an ultra high band radio signal.No way to slice through it."

"What's it coming from?"

"All scopes are dead. I can't get any readings."

"What about missile locks?"

"You'd be shooting blind."

"Then its guns. Arm the forward fifties. Targeting systems are shot. I'll have to fire manually."

"Hey, the Shield switched off its grav lift and is moving up back towards cloud cover! Its going to head back into space!"

"What? Did you get them a signal?"

"No... You think they got the picture though? A pelican being chased by a Longsword?"

"Maybe, then again though they aren't firing... Just tell me when we're in range."

"He'll reach the Shield in forty-two seconds. You'll be in gun range in thirty. Not much of a window."

"It'll be enough. I'll try and aim for the rear engines. Ground him and hopefully keep him there."

"You're taking a huge risk."

"Enter the world of a Spartan Two."

The Pelican was weaving a little from left to right.

"That's it. I'm cutting the distance."

"Jesse. You hit the afterburners here you'll tear this fighter apart. Those scramjets are not good in atmosphere. Not good! The wind sheer will pull the armor clean off!"

"You have any better ideas? If he gets to the cruiser we'll never find him!"

"Maybe we could cut him off. Shoot in front of him. Make him think we're strafing the cockpit."

"Nuso can't be bluffed. Too late anyway. We're in range."

Jesse pulled the triggers and two streams of tracers shot out from the underside of the cockpit. The Pelican pulled a sharp right turn and dodged the two streams. The nose gun swiveled and returned fire. Jesse heard the unwanted sound of bullets hitting metal.

"Woah! He's a good shot!"

"He cut across the upper armor. Very little damage sustained. They're anti-personnel rounds. Not very effective against thick armor plating."

"But it will still punch through it you're a good enough shot. And he's one of the best."

The Pelican banked again and pulled away from the Longsword. Jesse fought with the controls to stay behind the dropship, but it was obvious a master was at the controls of the Pelican.

"When did he become such a good pilot? And without Anubis helping him."

"I don't know but I can't hold my position for long if he keeps pulling turns like that. See if you can boosy the maneuvering thrusters a bit."

Jesse hit the triggers again and the tracers pulled across the Pelican's left wing strut. There was a small spark of fireand smoke began to vent from the damaged hull.

"Got his fuel line! Hold on... What is he doing!"

"Going up?"

The Pelican nosed upwards and shot through the clouds.

"He's crazy! If he goes into the upper atmosphere hisfuel will freeze with an exposed line! He blow half the dropship apart!"

"Then stop him!"

Jesse pulled up after the Pelican. He saw it every so often through the dense cloud cover. After a few more moments they both broke through and into clear skies. Jesse saw the Shield, but it was almost a mile above them.

"He's still going for the ship. What's he trying to pull?"

"Unknown. But if he receives any more damage at this point its possible his engines could cut out. Fall go boom."

"Great. I can't stop him. I can't shoot him. And if he goes into space he'll explode. What a predicament."

Jesse watched as the Shield began to grow larger very quicklyas they approached. Jesse saw the rear hanger bay was open. And the Pelican was making a beeline for it.

"What's going on? Why is the hanger wide open?"

"Don't ask me. I'm blind in this jamming field."

"He's less than two hundred meters from the hanger. Get ready to hit the forward point thrusters to slow us down. We're landing inside too."

"Something tells me Nuso isn't in the mood to talk."

"One hundred meters. Eighty. Sixty. Aaron, brace the structural dampeners."

"Ready."

"Twenty meters."

The Pelican flew right into the hanger and a blue field appeared right as it did.

"Shield! Jesse, pull away! Pull up!"

Jesse pulled hard on the controls and the fighter nosed up. They scraped across the hull and ground quickly to a halt. A slight shimmer was coming from right above the fighter, holding it in place.

"What just happened? I didn't know something like this could stop that fast. And we're sticking to the side of the ship."

"They raised their shields. With us inside."

"Um, why?"

"Stop asking me questions I don't have an answer for. You still want on board? The airlock is over there. There's no atmosphere even inside the shields since we just passed through the atmosphere."

"Thanks for the advice."

Jesse walked to the hatch and hit the switch. Nothing happened.

"Aaron. Why isn't it opening?"

"Something's wrong. Touch the ceiling."

Jesse raised his hand, but didn't quite make it. He touched something that shimmered and he couldn't pass his hand through it.

"Just as I thought. The shield has activated through the Longsword. Unless you can punch your way through solid titanium-A, you're stuck."

"It would take a while. But I can get through it."

"You'd better hurry. If the ship goes into slipspace with us right where we are. Ever seen a bug hit the windshield of a Pelican at full speed?"

"Umm, yeah."

"Same thing."

"Time to start digging."

"And fast."


	16. Protocol Four Nine Nine

Nuso opened his eyes. He was sitting in a field of familiar looking plants under a yellow sky.

"What in the name of God?"

"Welcome young one."

Nuso turned to see a robed figure standing behind him. His eyes narrowed, but he didn't make any sudden moves.

"Who the heck are you?"

"My name is not important nor could you pronounce it in your tongue. What is important is you are here. The fusion was complete and you were not harmed by it."

"The crystal?"

"Yes. Exactly."

"The weapon."

"Weapon?" The talking robe laughed. "It is not a weapon! What made you believe that?"

"Rumors."

"No. It is a database. It holds all my journals and research."

"Which includes?"

"Ah! You are interested! Wonderful!Let me allow you access to the information."

"What?"

"The crystal is a database. It holds all the knowledge of me and my people in the Great War."

"The what?" Nuso was thoroughly confused.

"Surely history still has record of the wars?"

"Um, no. I don't think so. What great war?"

"Unfortunate. So unfortunate. At least I saved this record."

"A record that eats people?"

"Excuse me?"

"The crystal enveloped me."

"It simply fused with your body. I'm sorry, but it is the only way to properly connect with your conscious mind.I'm sorry for any discomfort in the process."

"Yeah. I'd give you the finger, but I only have four."

"The finger?"

"Never mind. So, where exactly am I?"

"In the main databanks of the crystal. This is what as known as mental projective imaging. It is the picture of yourself in your mind. I call it 'dreamstate.'"

"Then, what are you?"

"I am Nexus. That is the best translationI could appropriate."

"And, what is Nexus?"

"I am a member of the race many know as the Builders."

"The Builders?You meanthe Forerunners!"

"Forerunners? No. We've never been called that."

"Did you build the ring? Halo?"

"Halo… How do you know about the rings?"

"Um, ring…zz? Plural?"

"Yes, seven."

"Six. We blew one up before it could fire."

"You did? Do you make a habit of destroying our technology young one?"

"Yes. Your technology does nothing but destroys life and wipes entire species off the face of planets. You are more like the Destroyers, not the Builders."

"We had no choice. The Reavers were too far spread. And their creations were doing even more damage."

"Reavers?"

"Reavers, shadows, death. We knew them by these names. They literally leeched the life from planets to fuel their war machines."

"Riktu'Navous…"

"The only race we have ever experienced that was more advanced than ourselves. In our arrogance we were not prepared."

"But I thought you had a truce with them."

"Truce? No. They came and attacked. No provocation, no warnings. Just destruction. We lost half of our worlds before we even knew what hit us."

"Go on. I'm up for a good story."

"Let me see... After almost five solar rotations, they simply stopped. That's when the swarm came. Maybe they were created by the Reavers. Maybe they were allies, we'll never know. As entire populations began to be consumed by the swarm, I was entrusted to build a machine to combat those monstrosities. I built seven rings. And when they combined their powers they would release an energy wave that would annihilate the swarm from the galaxy forever. But we never got the chance. The Reavers attacked the rings and overpowered their defenses. They used our own technology against us. They reprogrammed the rings to kill all life with the same bio-structure as us. I had only one hope to stop the massacre. The blast could not be stopped. But I changed a key algorithm in the programming. Instead of wiping out us. It wiped out everything."

"What! You purposefully wiped out all life in the galaxy!"

"The keepers of the ringsused samples of all races we ever had contact with to reseed everything."

"But still. You killed everything. Isn't that a little extreme? Why are you even telling me this?You don't know me."

"You accessed the database in the crystal. You're simply absorbing the knowledge inside of it. I'm only a program that holds that information. Like reading a book."

"But why am I not in control of my own body?"

"You are, in a way. Well, your subconscious mind is. Once the fusion is complete you will be back in control. During the fusion, the host body learns all the knowledge stored."

"I don't even know what I'm doing. I can't see through my own eyes. I'm trapped in… Wherever this is."

"It's a dreamstate."

"Whatever. I just want to get out."

"And do what? As from what I've extrapolated from your mind. You're kind are no friends of humans."

"My mind? You can read my mind?"

"Partially."

"Okay, that's it. That's too far."

"Why are you helping them? Why do what they say?"

"Because I have no choice…"

"No choice? What do you mean?"

"It started off with me just doing it to stay alive. But then everything changed. Or should I say, it didn't."

"You're not making sense."

"I have a homing beacon implanted in me. They've never trusted me. I don't know how it works. But it all had something to do with a Colonel who put up a huge fuss."

"I see. So they can find you no matter where you go."

"I don't know. They only reason I know its there is I did an x-ray on myself. All I know is that there is a small device in me.I figured it was a homing beacon."

"So it is not the fact that you want to. It is you have no choice."

"Where else would I go? What else would I do? My people would never accept me. I am a traitor. This is the only life I have."

"There is something else..."

"Enough with the interrogation! I'm getting tired of this!"

"I simply wish to know."

"You're a program. A simulation of life. And I feel no need to indulge you anymore."

Nuso turned around and stared in the other direction. He wondered why he had lost his temper. But the fact this program had learned his innermost feelings disturbed him.

"You've never forgiven them, have you?"

"... ..."

"You blame them."

"They are responsible."

"But still you fight to protect them. Even to the point of killing your own people."

"I have no choice."

"There is always a choice."

"Oh, sure, okay! I'll just waltz up to the general and say, 'hey, screw you!' Know what'll happen then? I get filleted."

"That would be a bit extreme.But you have hate for the marines. But you banish it deep in your mind."

"They only do what they are ordered. Civilians get in the way. Innocent people die."

"But they didn't kill you."

"No. They kidnapped me and forced me through their training. I admit it was enjoyable, but still... These are not my kind.I still dream of returning to my people."

"You wish to go home."

"Look, what's it to you! Huh! Piss off!"

"I cannot until the fusion is complete."

"And that is?"

"When it is complete."

"Great. I'll be in a coma with a crazy program who thinks he's a shrink."

"You aren't comatose. Your conscious mind simply lapsed into a dreamstate when it was exposed to the crystal's energy patterns."

"So my subconscious took over?"

"In a sense, yes."

"... Crap."

"What is wrong?"

"My kind, they're inner thoughts... Let's just say we're very, very bad on the inside."

"How so?"

"You're in my head. Figure it out!"

"Your subconscious mind is seeking out the best defensible position to launch a counter-strike against anything it sees?"

"No. It's probably just going to start killing stuff. We call it blood-lust. It's when we go into such a rage-filled stupor that we kill anything we can get our hands on. And with me, well, I've got a lot of pent up anger."

"The fusion is almost complete. But it appears that your body has killed several humans and commandeered a flying vehicle of some kind. I can see what's going on through a series of sensors intertwined in the crystal."

"I killed some marines! Well this won't end well. Jeez this sucks, I'm a prisoner in my own mind!"

"It is for your own good. The information your mind is downloading would overload your conscious mind completely. Your mind would literally implode. It must be inserted in increments."

"Why the field though?"

"This is the place in your mind which you feel most comfortable. What is this planet?I am not familiar with it."

"It's my home. My real home. Back on the planet I was raised on.

"Your home world."

"Surprising how similar it looks to earth. Give or take about sixty degrees hotter."

"My home world had a different color sky."

"So does earth. Earth has a blue sky. Not yellow. My planet orbits a red giant."

"My home planet's sky was green."

"Green?"

"An abundance of chemicals in the atmosphere caused the color shift."

"Ah. Okay, what am I doing now?"

"Firing at a pursuing aircraft."

"Oh, wonderful."

"You are an excellent shot."

"Thanks, I learned from the best. When is the fusion going to be complete?"

"I can't tell you."

"Um, why not?"

"Because I don't know. I've never done this before."

"Are you saying you've been sitting in that statue for one hundred thousand years?"

"Yes."

"... Bummer."

"What?"

"Something a friend of mine says a lot. I try to mimic the way he talks. I'm pretty good at it too."

"Ah yes, Jesse."

"There you go with the reading my mindagain."

"Sorry."

"So, what exactly am I supposed to do with all this 'knowledge' once the fusion is finished?"

"Upload it as quickly as possible into the nearest gross data storagemainframe before the mass amount of information causes your synaptic relays to overload."

"... Are you kidding me?"

"No."

"Well, this bites. Te only thing that could hold the amount of information you're talking about is a Covenant crystal storage base inside a ship.So, where are we now?"

"We just slammed into the docking hold of a large ship. It surprisingly resembles ships of our design, odd. The pursuing ship veered off."

"It'll be back. Hey, I feel funny."

"Once you wake up, you simply have to touch the data storage unit. I'll handle the rest."

"How long do I have?"

"Not long at all."

Nuso's eyes shot open. He was lying on the cold floor of the Adamant Shield.

"Ohh, my head. Where... Where am I?"

Then everything came to him in a flash.

"Science level. Better raise shields just in case that pursuer decides to pay avisit."

Nuso opened the control panel in the docking bay and hit the code into the keypad.

"Now to upload whatever is in my head. No wonder it feels like I have a monster migraine.There's to much stuff in my head."

Nuso broke into a dead run down the hallways. He tore through the different corridors and finally reached the lift.

"Can't access the teleportation grid without an armband. And I don't have Anubis. I wondered why it was so quiet."

Nuso forced the doors open and looked down the shaft.

"Twenty-two stories down. Easy enough.Geronimo!"

Nuso leapt and freefell down the shaft. He saw his stop coming up and slammed his hands and feet into the walls of the shaft. He gritted his teeth as he screeched to a halt right above the closed doorway.

"Knock knock."

Nuso slammed his feet into the door and broke it off its track and into the hallway.

"INTRUDER ALERT. SCIENCE LEVEL. INTRUDER ALERT."

"Oh crap. I should have known that was going to happen."

There was a flash of light behind him and blue bolts of plasma shot over Nuso's head.

"Crap oh crap oh crap oh crap!It's a security drone."

Nuso tore down the hallways as the small defense drone flew after him in hot pursuit.

"Don't kill me now! Not after I got so close! Wait a minute. Why the heck am I running?"

Nuso turned and jumped onto the wall. Leaping off that into an aerial cartwheel he slammed his fists into the underside of the drone. It shot sparks and landed in a heap on the floor. As did Nuso.

"Ouch. There'll be more. Gotta hurry."

"INTRUDER APPROUCHING MAINFRAME. ALL CREWMEMBERS WITHIN THE MAINFRAME CONTAINMENT ROOM EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY. BLAST DOORS CLOSING."

"Not good!"

Nuso rushed forward. Sliding under each and every closing blast door. He finally saw the mainframe room. Or at least the door to it.

"A shield! Whoever I put in charge of security is doing all too well of a job!"

Nuso ripped open the bulkhead next to the shielded doorway and wrapped his hand in the wiring. He pulled his hand out and felt a tremendous shock. He fell over and twitched slightly. Smoke rising up from his exposed skin.

"Oh man... I wish I didn't already know what being electrocuted felt like..."

The shield on the door sputtered and shut off. The door opened a crack and Nuso forced it all the way. He practically leapt to the core console and placed his hand on it. This was the first time he actually looked at himself since the panel was like a mirror. He had the crystal imbedded deeply in his skin in a strange web-like fashion. The crystal webbing began to glow. And Nuso knew at that moment what was about to happen.

"Oh no..."

The crystal ripped itself from his skin and shot onto the console. Right as it did Nuso went into a violent convulsion and collapsed. He laid still for a moment before sitting up. He breathed in sharply, but otherwise showed no sign of seriousinjury.

"Did it work?"

"Yes."

"Nexus? Where are you?"

"On the computer. Look."

Nuso stared at the console. The crystal had wrapped itself around the holo-projector.

"My head is in serious pain."

"It will pass."

"Good. I obviously got rid of the crystal in time."

"Yes. I am now hardwired to this system. Thanks to you."

"No choice in the matter bub. It was getting you off of me or my brain getting discombobulated."

"Excuse me?"

"Nothing."

Nuso rubbed his arms where the crystal had been. And now deep rivets in his flesh still showed on them. Just then a flash of light burst out behind him and everything went dark.All he could see were dots.

"What the heck! What was that!"

"Who are you?"

"Who are you!"

"I asked first."

"I can't see."

"My name is Josh. You took out my drone. I got you with a flash grenade so stop groping around on the floor and tell me how you got on board our ship?"

"Josh? It's me, Nuso."

"Nuso? You don't sound like Nuso."

"Because I don't have my helmet on genius."

Nuso heard a plasma sword ignite then felt a very sharp heat next to his face.

"Prove it."

"Umm. There's a girl named Samantha up in the bridge..."

"You could have learned that from the mainframe."

"What the mainframe doesn't know is that you and a lot of other humans were abducted from your colony to be killed as ritualistic sacrifices by the Covenant leader Truth."

"... Glad to have you back big guy."

"Why my does my face still feel hot?"

"Because I'm still pointing my sword at it."

"Well stop."

"I think it's funny to watch you try and bat it away."

"My eyesight is coming back." Nuso said with a growl.

"Sword is off." The heat disappeared in an instant.

Nuso stood up slowly. He grimaced when he finally rose to his full height.

"I'm in serious pain."

"You look like you've been sleeping on a pile of swords."

"Brace me against the bulkhead."

"Why?"

"Because I'm about to fall down."

Josh pushed Nuso to the wall and the Elite placed his hands on it. His legs almost came out from under him and he sank to the floor.

"I'll get you to the medical bay. You look like you're in bad shape."

"That sounds about right."

"ALERT. OUTER AIRLOCK HATCH BREACHED. INTRUDER ALERT. UNKNOWN SIGNATURE DETECTED."

"Duty calls.That's two alerts in fiveminutes;new record.I'll tele you to the med-bay then off to fight bad guys. We've been having boarding craft snagging themselves to us ever since the ground guns took out the other cruiser."

"I'm going to pass out now."

Nuso let go of the wall and collapsed into Josh's arms.

"Oomph! Jeez, you're heavy."

The teenager hit a set of buttons on his wristband and in a flash of light the two disappeared. Josh placed Nuso on the examination table and stepped back.

"I'll be back. Just don't die on me or something like that."

He hit more buttons and again teleported. This time he appeared in a darkened corridor. Josh squinted in the shadows, but couldn't see anything. He pulled out his illumination rod and turned it on. There was something that sounded like a small burst of air and he felt something graze his leg. Whatever it was had ricocheted off his armor. Josh jumped behind a corner and pulled his sword out.

"Sounded like a silenced weapon. Maybe a handgun."

"The internal sensors aren't registering anything but that weapon discharge."

"Try thermal scanners."

"Just did. Still nothing."

"What about the R and Gs?"

"Only minimal interference."

"Than whatever it is, it's shielded."

"Elite?"

"With a handgun?"

"Then it beats me.Unless its human."

Josh peeked around the corner, but didn't see anyone. There was another "thip" sound, but this time Josh immediately ducked back around the corner.

"If it's human, why is it shooting at me?"

"Maybe for the same reason that four squadron of Longsword bombers are moving in for an attack run on us."

"Shield status?"

"One hundred percent. But we might need to make a run for it."

"With the battle going on in space?"

"What else can we do?"

"Tell Kelax to hold that option in reserve."

Josh heard a heavy, but muffled footstep. He pulled his sword up and held it ready. The footsteps were coming closer.

"Just cool it down Josh. Don't panic. You handled that Elite before. You can handle a marine."

The footsteps were just around the corner now. Josh breathed hard and ignited the sword. He whirled around the corner and swung the sword as hard as he could.

"AAAHHHH!" The scream sounded very far away, muffled by the Spartan's helmet.

Josh stared at the Spartan he had just hacked the arm off of. It was holding the cauterized wound in pain. He raised the pistol up and was about to fire. Josh just stared wide eyed. But his face quickly went back to the serious look he had before.

"I don't know what your problem is. But those bullets won't stop me with this amror on. I will kill you if you fire."

The Spartan didn't answer. From just above the elbow of his right arm and down there was nothing but air. And how it could stand that much pain was unimaginable.

"Put the gun down."

The Spartan did not comply.

"I said put it down."

This time it did do as it was told. It placed the pistol on the ground and kicked it away. Then it fell to one knee and leaned against the wall.

"Sam. Activate interior teleportation system to the brig."

"Give me the coordinates."

Josh placed a small transmitter on the Spartan's armor. The golden light of the transportation array appeared around it and then it was gone.

"Why was a Spartan trying to kill me?"

"A Spartan? And it tried to kill you?And you're still alive!"

"Yeah. This armor does pretty well. And it seemed like he hesitated for a second.I took the advantage."

"Well, it might have something to do with a transmission I intercepted. Listen to this."

Josh hit his receiver.

"Spartan one-zero-one. This is Admiral Manson."

"Yes sir?"

"We just got word from command. We've enacted a protocol four nine-nine onX zero-oneand thecrew of the captured Covenant cruiser."

"But, sir. There are..."

"Am I understood Spartan?"

"... Yes sir. I understand."

"After that it just cuts out." Sam said after a moment of static.

"What's a protocol four nine-nine?"

"Go on a killing spree? That sounds about right."

"No. I'll ask Nuso. Or our new prisoner. I hope he's alright though."

"What do you mean?"

"I chopped his right arm clean off."

"You're kidding."

"No, I'm holding the arm right now. But man is this armor heavy."

"Josh, that's sick!"

"I'm icing it. It can be replaced and healed. But for right now I want to have a word with it.I've got a quick stop first."

Josh hit a few keys on his transmitter and in a flash he disappeared.

"Nuso, hey... Wake up."

"Hmm, huh?"

"Hey buddy. Welcome back to the land of the conscious."

"Did I win?"

"Yeah. You're pretty hard to kill."

"Check the main database computer. Anything wrong with it?"

"Other than about sixty million terabytes of added information, no."

"Wow. That crystal had more than I thought."

"The 'crystal'has moved from the database and on to the shields and weapons systems. Rebuilding as it moves through the systems."

"What?"

"Whatever it's doing, the commander likes it. It's giving the ship a complete overhaul. We've never seen anything like it. Freaked us out at first, before we knew what it was doing."

"Like an upgrade?"

"Yeah."

"So Nexus had more to share than information."

"Who?"

"A friend. At least, I think he's a friend. Anyway. What was with the intruder alert?"

"Oh, that... You'd better follow me."

Nuso got up and looked down.

"Umm, where are my clothes?"

"Oh, sorry. Put this on."

Josh pulled a stretcher over with gold colored Zealot armor on it.

"It's the best thing I could find in your size."

"It'll do."

Nuso quickly donned the armor and pulled the helmet on.

"It's different from my old armor. Less sophisticated."

"But it looks good on you."

"And that's all that counts huh?"

"Yeah, pretty much. Better brace yourself. I don't think you'll like this."

Nuso felt the tingling feeling that came with Josh's constant teleporting. He found himself standing in the brig. With only a single cell activated.

"He's in there. Be careful. I tried to slide him some food a couple hours ago and he almost jumped me."

"Who's he?"

"A Spartan."

Nuso didn't look surprised at all. Just a strange far-away look came over his face. He walked to the cell and just stood there, staring.

"Jesse. What's this all about?"

"Leave me... Alone."

"What happened to your arm?"

"Leave..."

"Josh?"

"I cut his arm off the first time he attacked. It was self defense."

"No medical treatment?"

"The wound cauterized. He'll live. We can put his arm back on.But I want answers first."

"You do understand this is my best friend."

"I do. But can you tell me what a protocol four nine-nine is?"

"... It stands for a suspected traitor that is in a position to strike at UNSC personnel. It calls for the immediate termination of said subject or subjects."

"So, it means we die."

"We lift off and any ships that are not engaged will attack us."

"Well I say screw them all! I did not get kidnapped and recruited into this freako army just to get scraped by the one military force which who's hands I placed my life in. I say we go up and blow them all to hell! Our systems are getting a serious upgrade by the second."

"... What?" The Spartan had finally made up his mind to talk.

"Hear that, Jesse? In less than an hour this ship will be more than ten times more powerful, faster and maneuverable. Nothing will even be able to touch us."

"Forty MAC guns say differently."

"Jesse, this ship's shields could've withstood a direct hit from a super MAC. Now... It wouldn't even make a dent. Multiphase molecularly bonded alloys. Heavy external hull integrity field grid. Magnetized repair drones. It would be like trying tobreak a rock with a paper airplane. And the fact that the Covenant ships overhead are probably making a nuisance of themselves makes it even easier for us to escape."

Suddenly, the force field over the cell began to sputter.

"Aaron... Josh, run!"

The boy was gone in a flash of light.

"Even without my armor I'm still stronger than you, Jesse. And you're missing an arm. You can't win."

"I have orders."

"I will defend myself."

"Then do so!"

The Spartan charged. But Nuso stepped lightly aside and grabbed Jesse's back. He tossed the Spartan, MJOLNIR and all into the bulkhead and put a serious dent in the plating.

"You're in pain. You don't have a right arm. You really think you can win?"

Jesse crawled away from where he had hit the floor. He placed a hand on his helmet. He slowly lifted the headgear off and threw it away. Blood was coming from his mouth and nose.

"I can't do it." Jesse sounded hopeless.

"Jesse, you need my help. We can help you. Put you have to trust me."

"You're a traitor! You turned on us! You tried to steal this ship!"

"Me, the traitor?Jesse, let me tell you a thing or two about me."

Josh reappeared on thebridge and Sam motioned for him tocome to her station.

"What is it?"

"I just went over the medical scan from Nuso."

"And?"

"Well. The crystal that'sgoing through our systems. It's emitting a very odd energy pattern."

"Okay."

"The same energy pattern was surging through Nuso's body until he touched the mainframe's console."

"And?"

"And. Then it stopped. But then it reappeared, but not in him."

"Then where?"

"In the mainframe room. The energy pattern was pretty strong, but then it receded.And now it giving off Nuso's exact vitals."

"A clone?"

"Yeah. The crystal made an exact duplicate of him."


	17. Retribution

"You call me a traitor? Somehow that's rather ironic. Seeing I'm not even human! Besides, I wasn't even in control of what I was doing!"

"The order was still given."

"And of course you followed it. That's the problem with us. We're just followers."

Jesse didn't even look at Nuso. Nuso's com beeped and he hit the activation switch.

"I'm busy, what do you want?"

"Uh, Nuso. It looks like that crystal thing is doing something, um, weird."

"I'm going to need more information than that."

"How to say this... Umm... We believe it just made an exact duplicate of you. Like a clone."

"Huh? It copied me?"

"Yeah. Don't ask me why. But for one thing it's still emitting the constant energy pattern it has been since it came in contact with our systems."

"Let me talk to Kelax."

"I'm here Kerumee."

"What do you suggest?"

"We're tracking the duplicate right now. It's moving towards theengineering sections. Along with that we have several groups of fighters about to converge on our position."

"Our shields can hold off a couple Longswords."

"Our sensors are picking up Bore missiles in their weapon's bays. Even with the new modulations the crystal is installing, the missiles will punch through."

"Hit the boosters. Take us up higher."

"We leveled off near the upper atmosphere. If we go any higher we'll appear right in the middle of the battle up there."

"Better than getting blasted down here! If those missiles get into our hull they'll rip the insides out of the ship!"

A clanging sound came from behind Nuso and he jumped. Jesse was gone, and a broken ventilation grate explained where he had gone.

"He's good. Kelax, the prisoner has escaped. I'm going after him."

"Be careful."

"He's wounded. Don't worry about me. Get the ship out of range of those fighters."

"Too late. They just broke the clouds and are moving in to make an attack run."

"Cut into their communications. Tie me in."

Nuso climbed into the vents as he waited for the fighter's com systemsto transmitinto his.The shaftwas a tight fit, but not too bad to where he had to crawl on all fours, which is very uncomfortable for any Elite.

"I've got a lock on their com frequency Nuso."

"Hit it."

There was some static before the voice of the flight leader came over the com's speakers.

"Flight command this is Iron Eagle group. We have moved out of cloud cover and are preparing to strafe the cruiser."

"Watch yourselves out there Eagles. That ship's shields are off the scopes. Use Bore missiles to open them up so you can drop your troops."

Nuso's eyes narrowed. The Longswords could be modified to carry a small compliment of marines. Maybe a little under half a platoon. But if they were SFs, very few would be necessary.

"We are in range of the cruiser."

"Do not attack this ship itself. That is a valuable piece of enemy technology. Drop troops and pull away. We lost a Spartan to that thing's crew, so watch your backs when you breach the shields."

"Roger that command. We're moving in now. Rider, Greyson, on my wings. Eight through fourteen punch a hole in those shields. The rest of you cover the boarding craft once we make it to space."

"Roger that sir."

Nuso switched his com back to the bridge.

"Try and take out any missiles those fighters shoot. But don't hit them. I can deal with the boarders."

"You already have to deal with a Spartan. I'm moving as many of mytroops that aren't up here to fight off the humans."

"Try and maintain minimal casualties. Shoot to wound."

"I understand."

Nuso stepped out of the vent into a large expanse.

"Jesse! You can't run! Just come peacefully and this won't have to get messy!"

Nuso heard a vent cover get knocked out and he dove into the shaft it had come from.

"He's going for the engineering sections. He must be trying to disable us."

Nuso went as quickly as he could through the shafts until he found the cover that had been broken off.

"Can't be more than a few minutes behind him."

Nuso's com beeped and he activated it as he ran down the hallway.

"Nuso."

"What is it Sam?"

"The duplicate is in engineering. It's doing something to the singularity drive."

Nuso felt the cold feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach. The drive was "Reaver" technology as Nexus had called it. If Nexus had indeed copied Nuso, and saw the drive than who knows what it would do. Nuso reached engineering and opened the doors. He looked up at the massive room. At least ten stories to the ceiling and almost all space occupied by a coolant pipe, or a reactor or a drive unit.

Nuso looked left and right, but Jesse was nowhere to be seen. He could see a faint purple glow though. Coming from the level above him.

"This is frustrating. I see Nexus, but not Jesse."

"Nuso?"

It was that familiar voice again. The talking robe from whatever it was Nuso had been trapped in when the crystal was fused to him. Nuso saw a flash of movement and suddenly it was as if he was staring into a mirror.

"What the..."

"You like my new body?"

"Is that what I looked like with the crystal fused to me?"

"Yes."

Nuso brushed past his duplicate and jumped up and grabbed the ledge of the next level. He pulled himself up and looked around. Still no sign of the Spartan. Nexus landed right next to Nuso as he was climbing up.

"Are you looking for the human?"

"Where is he?"

"Three more levels up. He took the lift, but broke it when he reached the top."

"Broke it?"

"He disabled the receiving pad."

"How do you know?"

"What you see is just a physical manifestation of my form. I'm also in the systems of the ship too."

"What are you doing anyway?"

"I find this ship grossly inadequate. I'm making the necessary adjustments needed to bring it up to full capacity. Whoever built it has very little knowledge of our technology."

"So you're doing a little house work, hmm?"

"If I understand your statement correctly, yes."

"Just don't mess with the singularity drive. That's Reaver tech."

"I noticed. Disgusting piece of equipment if you ask me. But still far superior to our own designs."

"Okay okay, shut up. I'm trying to listen."

Nuso heard a clinking sound coming from above him. Like Jesse was messing with tools or something.

"Nexus. Walk out to where he can see you. He doesn't know you've duplicated me,I hope."

"Ah, a sneak maneuver. Ingenious."

"Yeah yeah, just do it."

Nexus nodded his head and walked across a small bridge to the other side of engineering. Nuso looked up and saw Jesse's head poke out from the fourth level.

"Got you."

Nuso opened the maintenance hatch and hit the auxiliary grav lift. He shot up to the forth level and jumped onto the floor. He looked around the corner from the lift to see Jesse crouching behind a power conduit. He was adjusting what looked like a machine attached to his right arm.

"He built himself a prosthetic arm. He's better with tools than he led me to believe."

Jesse flexed the robotic hand and clenched it into a fist. He wasn't wearing his helmet, otherwise he would have seen Nuso's movement as he snuck up on the Spartan. Nuso shot forwards and wrapped his arms around Jesse's neck. Jesse fought hard, but Nuso was easily twice as strong.

But Jesse clenched his fist again and a plasma blade shot out from the wrist. He tried to stick Nuso in the gut with it, but the Elite released him and jumped back.

"Jesse. Don't do this."

The Spartan didn't answer as he swung the two foot plasma blade at Nuso. As they approached the edge Nuso looked over his shoulder slightly and saw the catwalk two levels below him. He back flipped off the level and landed on the catwalk, absorbing the impact into his knees and waist. Jesse pulled a cord from his belt and threw it to the other side of the huge room. It connected squarely with a mass power node and he swung down. He hit the catwalk and rolled to keep from injuring his legs.

Nuso had grabbed a long pole from an equipment locker and hit a button in the center. The two ends of the pole buzzed with plasma dischargesas they lit up. Jesse's eyes got big as he stared at the strange device.

"It's an adjustment pole for switching out the reactor cores. Think fast."

Nuso spun the pole in a figure eight just like he had with the spear in the Covenant arena only a few days before. Jesse slowly backed up as Nuso approached. Jesse shot his blade arm forward and knocked the pole to the side and made a lethal plunge. Nuso jumped, using the other end of the pole to push himself up. Jesse attack barely went under his spread legs. But Nuso took his advantage and slammed his feet into Jesse's breastplate.

The Spartan was thrown back. He skidded along the catwalk and his armor shot sparks all around him. He pulled his prosthetic arm up and pushed something. A blast of flames shot out from it and hit Nusoin the chest. His shields pushed the flames away, but they were quickly draining.

"I've got to end this quick. Who knows what else he put in that thing."

Nuso slid under the spurt of fire and swung the pole and hit Jesse in the side. He knocked the Spartan off the catwalk and he fell down the full story to the unforgiving floor. His shields shattered as he hit the ground. Nuso saw him try to stand, but fall back down, unconscious.

"Nuso! What's going on down there!" Sam's voice yelled through his com.

"Easy Sam. The situation is contained. What's our status?"

"We just broke the upper atmosphere. But those Longswords sliced holes in our shields and docked to the airlock hatch the Spartan came through. Kelax's boys are holding them, but won't be able to forever."

"I'm coming. There's something I have to take care of first."

Nuso jumped down and grabbed Jesse's unconscious form. He hefted the Spartan onto his shoulder and walked out of engineering. He pressed a button on the panel outside on the wall and a series of keypads appeared. He entered a code into it and in a flash of light he teleported away.

He reappeared inside the med-bay and dropped Jesse onto one of the stations. He hit a switch and a force field surrounded the Spartan, effectively holding him down.

"Sam. Lock onto the Spartan's helmet and isolate its com frequencies. It has an AI in it. And we must assume it's hostile."

"I'm on it. And Nuso, you'd better hurry. These marines that are attacking are top notch. We haven't had any casualties yet, but we're losing ground."

"I'm on my way."

Nuso hit his com and jogged back to the teleportation panel. He hit the button for the lower decks and closed his eyes as the bright light surrounded him. He appeared in a dark hallway and immediately hit his suit's active camouflage. He looked to his right and noticed a weapon's locker. He opened it and pulled a carbine out and loaded an ammo pack into the receiver.

Nuso heard a dull thump coming from down the hallway. The sound of a grenade.He knew the fight was coming, so best not to watse his suit's power supply.He deactivated his camo and pulled two plasma renades out and began to fiddle with the insides.

"Warriors. Pull back to fifth panel in hallway omega. I'll be here."

Nuso could hear the loud sound of running footsteps coming down the hallway. Hefinished configuring theplasma flash grenadesand pushed the fuses down. Once he released it the grenade would go active.

"Wait for it. Wait for it."

TheFrunts ran past first, then the Elites came, firing behind them as theymade their way toNuso's position.He dropped the two flash bombs and followed as the Elites passed him. The hallway was suddenly flooded with a burning white light. Nuso's eyes immediately clamped shut to avoid the flash from stunning him.

"Move! Get to the eighth junction and set up a defensive perimeter!"

The Elites didn't even argue as they stormed down the hallway towards the intersection. Nuso whirled around and started firing at the marines. He saw one drop down, his leg bleeding badly.

"Oh man, they're ODSTs."

"Nuso, this is Sam."

"What is it? I'm in the middle of a fight here."

"We've broken away from the atmosphere right into a war zone! We're taking fire from all sides!"

"Don't fire on any UNSC ships. Only on the Covenant."

The Adamant Shield slowly moved away from the planet. Several Covenant frigates turned to fire on it. But the nose of the Shield fired a thin blue beam of energy and raked it across the attacking ships, cleanly slicing them in two.

Back on the bridge, the crew was hard at work keeping the ship working as efficiently as possible.With a skeleton crew on duty, that was quite a task.

"Fire emergency boosters. Get us away from the cross-fire!"

"Shields at seventy-two percent and dropping!"

"Covenant Battle-Cruiser coming up on the lower ventral side!"

"Plasma batteries, open fire!"

The thick purple beams of light shot out from the cannons and hit the shields of the Covenant warship. The protective barrier did almost nothing to stop the super powerful weapons. The plasma blasts hit the hull and massive explosions ripped through the ship. Another hit it directly in the center and the ship wasblown in two.

"Another kill, commander!"

"Bring us around mark seven two. Full forward batteries converge on the carrier on our port side."

"Cannons charged and ready to fire."

"Fire!"

Almost a dozen plasma blasts opened up on the Covenant carrier. The ship didn't even stand a chance as it was practically disintegrated under the vicious barrage.

"We've got a clear channel out of the fighting!"

"Reports coming up from the lower decks. They've caught the boarders in a trap and are overtaking them."

"Casualties?"

"Two marines, one Elite and four Grunts."

"Understood. Power up the singularity drive."

"Yes sir... Commander, the drive won't respond. It isn't receiving any power."

"What? Are the power conduits damaged?"

"I'm not detecting any structural damage or corrosion. It's just as if the drive is offline."

"It has to be that crystal entity that's been moving through our systems."

"Last report we received on it was from engineering."

"Should I send a drone down there commander?"

"No. Take two Elites and check into it yourself."

Josh snapped his fingers and motioned for two of the bridge guards to follow him. They nodded and hefted portable plasma cannons. Josh hit his teleportation band and the three disappeared. They rematerialized outside the engine deck and Josh motioned for the two Elites to spread out.

"Don't fire. Just send a com ping when you spot him. He should look like an Elite, but with a strange web of crystal all over his body."

"Understood."

The two Elites disappeared into the shadows and began to move up to the second level. Josh felt a strange feeling in his gut. He guessed it was just weird for him to be in a position of authority on board the cruiser that was primarily under the control of a race classified as enemies of humanity. Then again, Kelax had entrusted him with the ship's security. Which was asking a lot from a seventeen year old.

Josh's com beeped. A com ping. A list of symbols appeared on his HUD. The duplicate was on level three. The same level as the singularity drive.

"Do not fire. The duplicate is not suspected to be hostile."

Josh jumped into one of the grav lifts and rose up to level four. He jogged to the drive room and opened the door. The two Elites were hunched behind large pieces of equipment. He motioned for them to stay put as he walked forwards. His sword in his hand at the ready.

The duplicate was messing with something in one of the access panels. Josh slowly walked up till he was about ten feet from it.

"Ah, hello." It said without even turning around.

It looked like Nuso, but that definitely wasn't his voice. It turned around to look at Josh. It was a perfect mirror image of Nuso. Right down to the scarred mandibles.

"Who are you?"

"I call myself Nexus."

"Okay. Why are you here?"

"Nuso Kerumee brought me here. I have been upgrading your insultingly out of date equipment."

"Why?"

"Because such misuses of my people's technology is a disgrace."

"Your people? What do you mean by that?"

"Best someone who has a better understanding of it explain. Find the original."

"What? You mean the real Nuso?"

"Yes. What you are speaking to is simply a physical tool. My true consciousness is within the mainframe of this ship."

Josh was thoroughly confused. But he did not have time to understand what the duplicate was talking about.

"Look. We need that drive system online. We're in the middle of a battle!"

The ship-wide com system screeched an alarm and the computerized voice flowed through the speakers.

"WARNING. SHIELDS BELOW THIRTY PERCENT. WARNING."

Right after it finished talking the ship lurched to the side. Josh was flung into the bulkhead, but his shields absorbed most of the blow.

"Sam, what the heck was that!"

"We just got hit with a MAC round! We're down to seven percent shields! We need the singularity drive now!"

"It's the drive or death, Nexus!"

Nexus didn't need to be told twice. He spun around and began to quickly replace all the circuits. He finally slammed the panel shut and nodded.

"Kelax, punch it!"

Josh braced himself against the bulkhead as the ship launched itself into the wormhole. He slumped to the floor and exhaled deeply.

"That was too close."

"Josh. We're getting ship-wide damage reports. That MAC round stressed the hull integrity to its limit."

"I'll get the drones working on it right away. As for you. What gives you the right to suddenly start tampering with this ship's systems."

"I know what I'm doing."

Josh stood up and snapped his fingers. The two Elites jumped out from behind their cover and approached Nexus.

"I must ask you to follow us to the bridge. Our commander wishes to speak with you, personally."

"I guess you leave me no choice then."

"You've got the idea. If you promise to go peacefully I won't have my guards restrain you."

"That will not be necessary."

"Good. It's always more pleasant when they come peacefully."

Josh motioned to the door and the four walked out.

Nuso nodded to the other Elite and the last of the cells activated. The ODST prisoners were shouting a barrage of expletives, but Nuso just ignored them. He walked over to a corner and stooped down. It was Jesse's helmet from when he had pulled it off before. There was dried blood on the floor too. Nuso pulled Aaron's chip out from the helmet and produced a simple holo-projector from his belt. He inserted the chip and Aaron instantly appeared.

"What took you so long! You know how boring it is in there!"

"Umm. I'm surprised you aren't pulling the whole 'traitor' deal like Jesse was."

"Hey. I'm a smart AI. And I know you're no traitor. Anubis told me."

"Anubis? He's still in my helmet. Wherever that is."

"Ah, but you forget one of his copies is still aiding the crew of this ship. We've been chatting for a while. Besides, even if you were a traitor, I wouldn't care. I probably dislike the UNSC more than you do."

"What?"

"Hard to believe isn't it? Long story, has a lot to do with my programmer."

"You never cease to surprise me Aaron."

"It's a habit. So where did you lock up Jesse?"

"Medical bay. In a containment field."

"Oh he'll love that."

"Get this. He built himself a new arm. Complete with a plasma blade and a flamethrower."

"He's been busy."

"I had to fight him in engineering. He didn't prove to be much of a challenge."

"It's because he was holding back. He's fighting himself. His orders versus his friendship with you."

"Think we can convince him to think twice on the protocol?"

"It's worth a shot."

Nuso pulled the chip from the holo-projector and stuck it into a slot in his right forearm. He walked outside the brig and looked at the large group of Elites. His gaze fell on one in particular.

"Hey, you."

The Elite looked at him.

"Come here."

The Elite walked up and looked at the ground. Nuso clicked his mandibles together.

"What's wrong with you?"

The Elite shook its head.

"Can't you talk?"

The Elite looked back at the others, than motioned for him to follow it. They stepped into what looked like a conference room and the Elite shut the door.

"Well what's this about. I just wanted to know how old you are. Because you're pretty short to be a warrior."

"I'm not."

Nuso's eyes narrowed, the voice was strangely lighter in pitch. The Elite looked at him and placed its hands on the sides of its helmet. It pulled it off and looked right into Nuso's eyes.

"You're a girl!"


	18. Laws of the Ancients

The Elite dropped the helmet and stared at the floor.

"What were you trying to pull? Were you a prisoner like the rest of them?"

"No."

"Well?"

"I was a stowaway."

"From?"

"The station you stole this ship from."

"Why did you run?"

"I was afraid."

Nuso looked at the girl. She looked young. A juvenile for sure.

"Afraid of what?" Nuso could tell she was already getting tired of this interrogation.

"I knew there was a rebellion on the station. So I hide in the cargo hold. When you all stole the ship, I put on the disguise."

"I see."

Nuso turned around and walked to the other end of the room.

"You were a servant?"

"To the Prophet of Truth."

Nuso clicked his mandibles together. But he turned and pulled his own helmet off. She stared at the deep cuts that covered the sides of his head and neck.

"Does that hurt?"

"It did. But not anymore."

Nuso set the helmet onto the table and sat down in a chair. He kicked his feet up and set them on the long table and leaned back.

"So. You disguised yourself as a warrior. That means you obviously fought like one."

"I was trained to protect the hierarch."

"I see. You can handle a weapon then?"

"I have some practice with a plasma rifle. But I am trained to use a dagger."

"You're a bodyguard? Just like Truth to stoop so low to using females as guards. Couldn't trust his own."

"I was simply a precaution."

"But you ran the first chance you got. Heh, some bodyguard you made."

Nuso's eyes suddenly shot to full size. His mandibles flared open and he snarled.

"You are the one who released the Prophet!"

The female looked at the floor. Nuso in a flash had his hand around her throat.

"Do you even know how long it took me to capture him! Much less how much effort it took!"

She stared at him with fear in her eyes. He had lifted her clear off the floor. Nuso's eyes narrowed and he stared right into hers.

"Please..." She managed to whisper.

Nuso let go and turned back to the other side of the room. The girl landed in a heap on the ground and coughed.

"I was only doing my duty."

"You're Prophet before your people? Now are you going to tell me you believe in the Great Journey?"

"Don't you?"

"Hah! I know the full story. The Forerunners are not gods. They were arrogant and they paid the ultimate price for it."

"But the rings..."

"Bring only death and destruction. They've been hardwired to kill every single living thing that its power touches. And if you don't believe me, ask any one of the other Elites on board."

"No! I can't! They'll kill me!"

"You seemed to handle yourself well in taking out the guards around Truth. And yes, it is very likely they'll kill you. You know it is strictly against our most basic beliefs for a female to fight as a warrior. Even before we joined the Covenant."

The girl slumped into a chair and stared at the floor.

"But I'm not going to do that. I have different views than the others. And I believe you deserve a second chance. Everyone does. Yes, you released Truth. But it doesn't matter now. Now you have a choice. I am going to walk out of this room and not say anything about what has just happened. You can continue to pretend to be a warrior. Keep following your doomed beliefs. Or you can follow me out, lose the armor and give up trying to please a leader who cares only for himself and his rise to more power. Think about it."

Nuso walked over to the end of the table and grabbed his helmet. He fitted onto his head and snapped it shut. He shook his head, gave the female one last hard look before walking towards the door. He was about to open it when he heard a clanging sound.

He turned to see her pulling the armor plates off of her body. She was practically ripping it off. She tore the leg and chest pieces off and dropped them. Nuso nodded and motioned for her to follow.

"Come on."

"What are you going to do with me?"

"I'll leave that up to my collective staff. But for now you'll wait in quarters assigned to you."

Nuso hit his com relay and paged the bridge.

"Kelax. Move all your troops to the upper decks for repair. We have a limited amount of time before we fall out of the wormhole. Make sure we're combat ready."

"Understood."

Nuso heard the soldiers outside the room marching off to their duties. He opened the door and she walked out. She barely made a sound as she walked, compared to Nuso's boots clacking on the metal floor. She held her head low, staring at the floor.

"I'm sorry for losing my temper."

"I deserved what you did to me. I killed two of my own kind."

"I've killed many more than two."

She looked back at him with a confused look on her face.

"It's a long story. One I don't feel I should divulge to you."

"I understand."

Nuso made a huff sound and continued down the hall. He reached a transport panel and hit a few keys. They both disappeared in a bright flash of light and rematerialized in another hallway.

"Stay in those quarters. There's food and water. I will discuss this matter with the others to determine your fate."

The girl walked into the large living quarters and sat in the bed.

"One last thing." Nuso said.

"Yes?"

"What is your name?"

"Narra Jasumee."

Nuso nodded and walked back out. The door hissed shut behind him.

"Aaron, lock the door."

The door changed from its soft white color to a light red. No noise came from inside, but he knew she was probably trying to find a way out. Types like her always did.

_The next day_

Nuso sat down at the table. Four other Elites were also sitting around it, and each had a very stern look on their faces.

"A female?"

"She's young too. Not much younger than me."

"And she is the reason Truth escaped? Why didn't she run with him?"

"He probably ordered her to stay here. Maybe as a spy."

"A female working undercover as a warrior to spy for the hierarch. I've never even dreamed of the Prophets to go that low."

"We've seen them use children."

"Yes. But that was so long ago. And times were desperate."

"We're straying off topic warriors. How will we deal with this female? She has killed two of her own kind. Clearly murder."

"And I have done much more than her. She was clouded by the Prophet's lies. If I may, I would like to make a proposal."

"Proceed Kerumee."

"This female is much more than she seems. I took the liberty of making a complete scan of her while she slept in the quarters I assigned her. Aaron, project the hologram."

A figure of an Elite appeared.

"This is her. Narra Jasumee. Female Sangheili, on the outside. From what I surmised, she is not entirely organic."

"Explain."

"Look here. Her skin has slight scars along all the joints and pressure points. Looking a bit deeper, under the skin you'll find her entire muscle system has been intertwined with a network of stimulating electrodes. This in fact is similar, though not quite as effective as my own implants. Increasing the physical strength, reflexes and overall speed the muscles can attain. But, under that layer we find something in its whole, disturbing. She doesn't have a single organic bone in her body. It's all mechanical. Along with that, he left eye is cybernetic, as well as her entire left arm."

"Why was this done?"

"I can tell you from the scans that it is likely because of something that happened to her. From how extensively she has been repaired, I believe she was caught in an explosion of some kind. She won't know though. Her memory centers have been damaged."

"Why was this done?"

"Truth has a very odd approach to how he has his guards aligned. He relies mainly on his honor guards and the Arbiter. But having an assassin by his side would be added protection. Only one thing went wrong. She got scared."

"And she hid away inside the ship. From there she stole a suit of armor and played the part of a warrior."

"She's a bit short."

"As long as she didn't talk, she was accepted."

"But now what can we do? She will be killed if this secret is revealed."

"I will protect her."

"Why would you even care Kerumee?"

"I feel there is more to her than even she knows. Her memory shows signs of damage, but not from her replacement parts. I believe Truth has been wiping her memory."

"Is that possible?"

"Forerunners did have the technology to access the mind of a sentient being. It is plausible to erase the memory from someone's mind. But it leaves scars, and it can't be done repeatedly. Like erasing the memory banks of an AI, the consciousness corrodes."

"Why would Truth do that?"

"From what I was able to extract from her in the short time I was interacting, I believe it is because she knew too much about what he was doing. She doesn't truly believe in the Great Journey, but she chooses to accept it."

"That's very strange. But also disturbing in the light of the fact Truth has the technology to do such a thing."

"Yes. I will need toquestion her further."

"Kerumee. Do not overdo it."

"Don't worry Kelax. I know how to handle cases like this. She's almost my age. And trust me when I say young minds think alike."

"And what of thehuman making a nuisance of himself down in the med-bay? He's breaking everything since he deactivated the security fields."

"Just keep him locked in there. All things in time. Let him think about his situation. He'll come around, I'm sure. It will just take some… Convincing."

"Are you sure?"

"Jesse is a very misunderstood person. He tries his best to obey orders, but I know what he does in his spare time."

"What do you mean?"

"He's the only Spartan that steals alcohol from the officer's lounge whenever he gets the chance."

The Elites all looked at one another with confused looks on their face. But Nuso could hear Aaron laughing his head off inside his helmet. The AI knew exactly what Nuso was talking about.

Nuso walked out of the meeting room and sat down on a small cargo box.

"How am I going to handle this one? I've never had any contact with another female of my kind except for my mother."

"Don't look at me bub. I am not one for the ladies. I've spent my whole two year long life cooped up in Jesse's helmet. Sometimes in a computer or two, but mostly in his armor. I don't get to hang out with any other AIs. Though I wouldn't mind meeting one."

"Dream on lover boy."

Nuso stood and punched in a code for the teleportation array and immediately warped to his destination.

"So much more efficient than grav lifts."

"But it does wonders for my circuits. Every stinkin time we warp around it jumbles my memory processor. It isn't a thing to be jumbled."

"You'll live."

"Yeah. But just imagine if the transport array malfunctions. It'll pulverize your molecular structure. Take that for a spin in your empty head."

"Punk."

"Squid-face." Aaron didn't even skip a beat.

Nuso grinned, but didn't say anything more. He walked up to the door to Narra's quarters and unlocked it. The door opened and Nuso saw a flash of motion. He caught the piece of glass right before it punched into his unshielded head.

"Let's not be too hasty now Narra. I haven't come to do anything rash."

"I'm sorry, you startled me."

"I have a way of doing that. Have a seat."

Nuso tossed the piece of glass to the side and sat down in a chair acorss from Narra's.

"We haven't decided what to do with you yet. But you aren't going to be killed, let me assure you of that. Even though what you've done is pretty bad."

"Why?"

"What kind of question is that?"

"Why am I an exception to the law?"

"There are some things I want to know about you."

Narra's eyes narrowed.

"Like what?"

"The fact that you took out two guards without even raising the alarm? You obviously knew what you were doing."

"Yes."

"How do you know this?"

"I've always known."

"I see."

Nuso's suspicions were confirmed. She did have a rebuilt memory, but it was incomplete. A blank slate.

"You know…" Narra said with a blank face.

Nuso looked up. Her eyes were almost eerie in a way. Like they were hollow, devoid of any true life.

"I know what?"

"About me. What I am."

"I'm surprised you do. We know only what our scans can tell us."

"You have the same thing. We've heard about you. The traitor. The one the humans captured."

Nuso nodded.

"My body was destroyed in an accident. All I know is waking up in a large white room. Then my memory gets very foggy after that."

"Because your memory has been altered. Erased."

"Not erased. Blocked."

"Blocked? Why?"

"I did it to myself. Some things happening to me I never wanted to remember."

"Working for Truth, I can see your reasons. But I still don't understand why you released him."

"I have no excuse. I must obey him. I took an oath."

"Backed into a corner?"

"More like pushed."

Narra stood up and walked to a mirror and looked at herself. She had taken the armored plates off of herself, but kept the under layers on.

"I always wanted to run away. But I had nowhere to go. No one would have ever helped me if they knew who… What I am."

"You are what you are. There is no point in seeing yourself as anything but a Sangheili. Look at me. I have implants within me as well. But I am respected as a leader. Eve for my age."

"It is easier for you to be accepted. You're male. Such a thing for me would be unthinkable."

"But it's what you are. I had to accept what was happening to me as well. And I was put through more of an ordeal than you think."

"What happened to you?"

"I was changed forever. Just like you."

"Were you injured like I was?"

"No. What happened to me was purely for enhancing my natural fighting abilities. Not in an accident like you."

Narra nodded and walked back to the chair and sat down.

"Why did they do it?"

"I've never known. I guess they wanted to make an even better soldier."

Nuso's com beeped and he looked down at it.

"Why now? What is it?"

"Kerumee. We have a problem."

"What happened?"

"The singularity drive overheated. We have to shut it down."

"By my calculations, wouldn't that be bad in this part of town?"

"Yes. Either that or death though. This ship will implode within the wormhole if we continue at this rate of speed."

"Drop us out and raise shields."

"Our shield generator is still under repairs. We'll have maybe forty percent, hopefully."

"What is Nexus doing?"

"Repairing the hull. I believe that is much more critical at this point."

"I agree. Bring up full weapons status. Better rely on gunners instead of the computers."

"Then we'd better assign some."

"Have Sam get on it. I'll get to my station as quickly as possible."

Nuso was about to walk out when Narra grabbed his arm.

"I can help.I know how my way around a ship like this."

"Really?"

"Is it so surprising?"

"Probably not. But I don't know if the others would agree.But I guess I've never really been able to study the, eh-hem, opposite gender."

"You seem to know our ancient laws quite well."

"When your father was a very strict enforcer of the old ways, you learn a few things."

"Who was your father?"

"Ulich Kerumee. High Zealot of the First Pillar."

"Very high ranking warrior."

"The highest. Didn't stop him from getting a shotgun shell in the face though."

"I'm sorry."

"Everyone is. It was a long time ago. I've come to accept what happened. I can still remember them as clear as if they were standing in front of me. It's consoling."

"I never knew my parents."

Nuso looked at Narra for the first time with a sympathetic look on his face. But before he could say anything else the ship shook violently.

"What was that!" Narra screamed after she picked herself up from slamming into the wall.

"That wasn't a plasma blast, we hit something!"

Nuso snapped his com unit open and paged the bridge.

"Sam!"

"We're kinda busy up here Nuso."

"What happened!"

"Wedropped out of the wormhole right into a minefield!"

"Minefield?"

The ship shook again. This time Nuso was knocked right off his feet and sent straightinto the bulkhead. His shields automatically kicked in on impact, but he still felt the brunt of the hit.

"Kelax. This is Nuso. What's our situation?"

"Our drive system cut out right at the exact wrong moment. We came out of the wormhole right in the middle of a minefield. They're Covenant class two proto mines."

"Shields?"

"Dropping like a stone."

"I'm on my way to the pulsar cannons. Try and keep us alive till I get there."

Nuso snapped his com unit closed and pointed at Narra.

"Come on! I might need your help."

"Me?"

"Yes. These mines instantly send out a beacon call to any ships in the area to assist if a ship enters them."

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"We're going to have a lot of company real fast."

"What can I do?"

Nuso smirked when she asked.

"You'll find out. I could use someone like you to help me out."

"I don't think I like the sound of that."

"Too late now. You got yourself into this and if you want redemption,follow me."

The two ran down the hall and stopped at the teleportation panel. Nuso entered a particularly long set of codes and they disappeared in a flash of light.


	19. Quick Draw

_Okay, it's official, this is the last chapterthat is written in a very hasty manner. I have finished my finals and am now very, very happy. I have done very well and got good grades. I will now be able to devote more time to writing better chapters._

* * *

"Where are we going?"

"This ship is equipped with two enhanced particle ion cannons. We've tested them but they were made for soldiers with very high reflex levels. That's you and me."

"But..."

"Hey! You got yourself into this! I see that you have two choices. You help me defend this ship or I shove you into the nearest airlock."

Narra looked surprised, but her mandibles hinted at a smirk.

"I see."

"It's that simple."

"You wouldn't dare."

Nuso looked at Narra and he made the Elite version of raising an eyebrow.

* * *

"Hey! You can't be serious!"

Narra banged on the door of the airlock. Nuso had simply tossed her in and closed the door.

"Last chance to make a choice."

"But that would be betraying the ones I swore my life to!"

"Time to rethink that decision."

"I can't do that!"

"My elbow is on the outer door's release."

Narra got very quiet.

"You can help me. Or you can suck vacuum."

"... I see there's no negotiating with you."

"I try to make a habit of being very direct."

"... I'll help you."

"Wonderful! Now which button is the open again?"

Narra's eyes got huge. Nuso hit the switch and the inner door swished open. Narra practically leapt out.

"Ha hah ha! Oh come on. I knew which switch was which."

"You are evil."

"I try."

Nuso closed the airlock and started jogging down the halls. He reached a particular grav lift and stepped in.

"The two cannons are on the dorsal and ventral sections. One on top, one on bottom. They fire as quickly as you can pull the triggers, so don't worry about recycle time. It's a movement controlled system. Where your arm moves, the cannon aims in that direction. Each station is equipped with two cannons."

"I see why they require so much effort to use."

"Think of it as a game."

"A game? Are you always this dense?"

"No, sometimes I'm worse. Right now I guess I'm just in a good mood. Which is really ironic considering our circumstances at the moment."

"I just think you're insane."

Nuso faked a hurt look.

"Me? Yeah, probably. Take this lift down, the cannon's station is at the bottom."

Nuso's com beeped and he switched it on.

"Hey, we haven't hit anymore mines. That's good."

"Nuso. No time for talk." Kelax's voice came over as rather flustered.

"What is it? Are they here already?"

"No. We have other problems."

"What's that?"

"We haven't hit anymore mines because we've stopped. Our engines shorted out."

"We're not moving at all?"

"Correct."

"Great. We're a four kilometer long target with minimal shields."

Nuso felt himself slowing down. He stopped right as his head was about to hit a black dome.

"Targeting systems activate. Activate ventral cannons. Neural interface engage. Power themain coils."

The dome shined for a moment before switching to a view of the space around the ship. Nuso grabbed the two handles for the cannons and pointed them forwards. The powerful weapons responded instantly.

"Activate com system to ventral cannons."

"Nuso?"

"Narra. What do you think?"

"It's amazing."

"Bad news. We only have maneuvering thrusters."

"So it's do or die."

"You got it."

Nuso strapped himself into a chest-high connector harness and swiveled the controllers. The cannons responded with the slightest movement of his body.

"Remember Narra. These cannons work independently of each other. Use that to your advantage, but don't lose control."

"Don't worry. I know what I'm doing."

Nuso nodded to himself and looked around him.

"You'd think they would be here by now. I don't see any slipspace ruptures."

"Kerumee. We're getting higher readings on the sensors. They're coming."

"Took them long enough. Time for a turkey shoot!"

Nuso saw a small flash to his left. He immediately aimed the left cannon in that direction and pulled the trigger. The cannon jumped as a large blue beam of energy jumped from it towards the rupture. As the cruiser emerged from the portal, the beam hit its nose. The ship came out fully, drifted to the left and was consumed in a massive blue explosion.

"Hit its power reactor. Big boom. Try and hit them before they can raise shields!"

Another slipspace opening appeared. Nuso turned his cannons to face it and fired both barrels. He was expecting another cruiser, but only a frigate came out. The beams passed right beside the warship. Without skipping a beat Nuso corrected the arc and fired again. One beam hit the now activated shields and splashed over the protective field. The shields wavered under the powerful weapons, but the second blast took them out completely. Nuso fired both barrels again, hitting both the fore and the aft. Tearing the ship into three separate pieces.

"Keep the plasma cannons centered on fighting off boarding craft. We don't have any warriors that can be spared."

"What about the human soldiers?"

"Are you nuts? You actually think they'd help us?"

"That or get killed."

"I'll leave that as an act of last resort."

Nuso looked to his left and saw several ruptures appear.

"Okay, now we're talking. You'd think they would learn."

A plasma torpedo suddenly flashed from the port side of a cruiser exiting slipspace.

"Incoming projectile!"

Nuso saw the blast rake across the shields and finally dissipate.

"Not good! Where the heck are those engines!"

"Still undergoing repairs."

"I can't hold off an entire fleet! And we're top priority targets!"

"Do your best."

"I AM!"

Nuso fired in every direction as he tagged target after target.

"They're using little ships. Two hit kills. But there's too many to keep up with!"

"That and the shields are dropping at a steady rate."

"They won't destroy us. This ship is too valuable. But I'll bet we're not on the list of 'do not annihilate completely.'"

Nuso saw the forward section of the Shield let loose a volley of plasma torpedoes. The purple streaks of deadly energy torn through the shields of another frigate and practically disintegrate the smaller ship.

"Our guns can't keep up with the amount of ships coming through the ruptures! We need to move, now! There's an entire battle group out there!"

"Nuso, don't lose your head."

Nuso ducked instinctively as a plasma blast scoured across the shields just above his guns.

"Did you mean that figuratively or literally?"

"Figuratively."

Nuso shrugged and tagged another frigate.

"Narra, how are you doing?"

"Fine."

"Any trouble?"

"Yes."

"Try and hit the front sections on the destroyers. Less shields, more armor."

Nuso swiveled around just in time to see the burning hulk of acarrier careening towards him.

"Oh no..."

Nuso raised his guns and fired. The powerful blasts were tearing the ship apart, but it was still coming.

"It's going to ram us! Brace yourselves!"

The ship hit the shields, and they failed. The remainder of the ship's carcass slammed into the hull. Nuso was torn from his harness and crushed into the bulkhead. He tried to stand in a half-conscious stupor, but fell to his knees.

"WARNING. HULL INTEGRITY COMPRIMISED. EMERGENCY INTERIOR SHIELDS ACTIVATED."

Nuso crawled to the grav lift and dropped into it. He felt like he was falling as he was carried to the exit port. He painstakingly pulled himself out and rose to his feet. He stumbled over to the teleportation console and entered a code. Right as he passed out he disappeared in the flash of light that accompanied the matter transfer.

* * *

"Commander. Upper pulsar guns destroyed. Dorsal hull integrity at forty-two percent."

"What is the status of our engines?"

"The entity has focused itself on repairing them. But it will take time."

"We don't have time."

"We'll have to make some."

Metallic ringing sounds began to come from the hull, then silence.

"They've stopped firing."

"Boarding ships, and lot's of them."

"We've got company. Prepare the warriors for a second internaldefense."

"I'm on it." Josh said and teleported off the bridge.

"Commander, we're beginning to drift."

"I am fully aware of our situation."

* * *

"Nuso, wake up."

There was a dull burning pain in his chest. He couldn't breathe very well.

"Hey, come on. Don't do this again."

That voice, he knew it.

"Jesse?"

"Yeah."

Nuso slammed his foot into Jesse's chest and sent the Spartan spinning.

"OOF! What the heck was that for! What, you think I was going to kill you!"

"... Um, yes."

Jesse's eyes went back to their normal size. He walked back over to where Nuso was sitting on the floor and got down beside the Elite.

"I'm sorry for before. It just made me so mad that you would turn your back on us like that. Turn your back on me."

"I wasn't in control of my actions Jesse."

"But even after. It mademe feel betrayed on a personal level."

"Interesting you sharing your feelings."

"True. So why are the alarms going off?"

"We're under attack."

"Well I figured that part out. And I think we're being boarded."

"I have to get back out there."

Nuso tried to stand, but hissed sharply and fell back down.

"Broken ribs." Jesse said, pointing at the dented armor plates over Nuso's chest.

"Easy fix. Get this armor off of me and grab that little tool right there."

Jesse did as he was told and was soon back with the item.

"Just hit the button and wave it over the discoloration. It reconstructs the tissue at an accelerated rate."

"Very cool."

Nuso stood up, this time with no pain.

"How's the arm?"

"I like it. Put a whole lot of gizmos in it too."

"It makes you look, umm, weird."

"Eh, so what. Now, where were we?"

"Unlocking the door."

Nuso opened the key panel and punched in a code. The door unlocked and opened.

"Great, no armor. What next?"

Nuso heard yelling from down the corridor and a plasma bolt shot over his head.

"Crap."

"Nuso, we're in trouble."

"Come on. There's an armory just around that bend."

Nuso ran around the curve, right smack dab into a Jackal. The ugly creature screeched when it saw Nuso and raised its plasma pistol. Jesse was on it in a second. He grabbed it by the waist and tore it in two.

"Ew."

"Eh heh, I always wanted to do that."

Nuso practically jumped into the armory station and his eyes danced over the equipment.

"Armor, armor, armor... Hey, here's something."

Nuso pulled his own plating off and quickly replaced it with the odd looking dark grey armor.

"Never seen that before."

"It's assassin armor."

"What?"

"Assassin. Very deadly Elites that use special armor to fight."

"We've neverencountered them before."

"Precisely."

Nuso clenched his fists and the gauntlets glowed with a dark blue flame.

"Hey, cool."

"Plasma projectors in the palms. Plus built in plasma swords. And it's just my size."

"Okay. You've got what you need. Let's kick some serious Covenant butt."

"I'm right behind you."


	20. All Hell Loosed

Nuso poked his head out from the armory and looked around.

"Clear."

Jesse trudged out with two fuel rod guns on his shoulders plus a large amount of plasma rifles strapped to his belt.

"Think you have enough guns?"

"You can never have enough guns."

Nuso shook his head and ran down the halls as silent as the dead. Jesse's heavy armor clunked behind him.

"How come you get armor that doesn't make any noise?"

"It's assassin armor. Wouldn't make a good one if you made noise."

"How heavy is it?"

"Light as a feather."

"How strong?"

"I don't know."

"Test it."

"How?"

A plasma grenade suddenly flew out from the hallway ahead of them and landed at Nuso's feet.

"Woah!" Jesse yelped and dove behind a corner, most of his arsenal falling off in the process.

Nuso wasn't so lucky, anddisappeared in a blue burst of flames.

"Nuso!"

Jesse ran up to the blast mark and looked around.

"Where'd he go?"

There was a muffled sound from above him and Jesse looked up. Nuso's feet were sticking out of the ceiling.

"What did you do, jump?" Jesse asked as he ripped the Elite from the bulkhead.

"Yeah. Better than get burned."

"True."

Nuso looked around the corner and saw a group of Brutes getting clobbered by a larger group of Elites.

"Wow. It's overkill in there."

"Should we help?"

"We'll just get in the way of them. Best to move on."

"I know you guys have some marines on board. I say we let them go."

"Uh, no. Think about it. They're helljumpers."

"They'll listen. We'll just explain the situation."

Nuso looked at Jesse and clicked his mandibles.

"You've gone insane my friend. You know how helljumpers act."

"With extreme profanity and violence. My kind of people."

"Are you drunk?"

"Not right now."

"Then why are you suggesting something we both know is insane?"

"Because it's a good idea."

Nuso shook his head.

"I'm so going to regret this."

"Put it on your tab."

"You really think they'd listen?"

"As the Godfather would say. 'We'll make them an offer they can't refuse.'"

"Not very original."

"Pfft, who cares about that?"

Nuso nodded and made three quick gestures with his hand. Jesse popped around the corner and grabbed onto the first enemy he saw. Unfortunately it was a Brute.

"Uh oh."

"RAAAAARRRGGH!"

Jesse leapt onto the big ape's shoulders and grabbed its head. Hetwisted his arms and tore the monster's head off its shoulders. A geyser of blackish blue blood sprayed Jesse right in the face. He screamed and fell to the floor.

"Thbth! Bleh! Nasty!"

"Yuck."

"You've seen worse. Thbth."

"But that's just wrong."

"Thbth, pbth, pth. Yeah, so? How would you have done it?"

"Stuck a knife in its eye."

"Good idea. Watch it."

Jesse pulled a small dagger from the Brute's belt and hurled it over Nuso's shoulder. The Elite spun around to see a Jackal fall over, the knife sticking out from its forehead.

"Nice throw."

"Come on. To the detention sections!"

"I still say this is crazy."

"We like crazy!"

"We?"

"Me and Aaron. Who is not currently with us at the moment, but i'm sure of the fact that he would agree."

"AM I NEVER INCLUDED IN THESE GROUPS YOU MAKE?"

Jesse shook his head and took off running down the hallway. Nuso rubbed his forehead, shrugged and chased after the Spartan. Nuso saw a door to his left open and a Drone buzzed through it. Nuso leapt into the air and stuck his leg forward, connecting his boot into the pesky creature's abdomen. It was dead before it hit the ground.He stared at the bodyfor a moment beforerunning up to a familiar panel and quickly tapping in a code. In a flash of golden light he vanished.

Jesse finally reached a maintenance hatch and pulled it open.

"Looks about a four story drop."

He leapt down and slammed into the next deck on all fours. The enormous shock of his impact absorbed into his joints with ease. Jesse kicked the hatch in front of him off its track and jumped through.

"Detention block. Next sector to the left. Man I wish I had my helmet."

Jesse looked at the floor and grabbed a stray plasma rifle.

"Hey Nuso, watch my… Where did he go?"

Jesse heard heavy footsteps and ducked into a side doorway.

"Are you sure there are infidels on board?"

"Yes chieftain. In one of the detention sections."

Jesse mouthed the word "one" over and over. There was more than just one detention area?

"Our objective is to recapture the defiant one. He is the priority."

"What about the one Truth spoke of? The half-real?"

"Do not use such a term so loudly. If a Sangheili overhears you speak that, your head will be taken before you can even flinch. Such a thing will bruise their pathetic honor code."

Jesse could tell they were Brutes. Deep voices that seemed to reverberate through the very hull of the ship.

"Truth has designated her as tertiary. If we are luck they have not yet discovered her."

Jesse was stumped. Who was this 'her?' What was so special about her? What did 'half-real' mean?

"There are rumors of the demon being aboard as well."

"Rumors? How can one human be in so many places at once?"

Jesse snickered. He clamped his hand over his mouth and held back the laugh.

"There was a sighting in the upper deck. He ripped the head off of Merradios."

"Incompetent fool deserved to die if he could not deal with a simple human."

"Chieftain, this is no 'simple' human."

Jesse heard a snort than more footsteps, only this time they were moving away from him.

"If the Brute leader is here, than Nuso is in deep trouble."

"Probably."

Jesse jumped almost straight into the ceiling at the sound of the voice above him.

"Who the heck… Nuso?"

"In a manner of speaking. Name's Nexus."

"Nexus?"

"I'm a clone of Nuso. You must be Jesse."

"Erm, yeah."

"Great! Follow me."

"But you're standing on the ceiling."

"Yes, I know. Come."

Nexus walked down the hall to Jesse's left. The Spartan simply stood there staring wide-eyed at the inverted being.

"Uh… Okay…"

"Don't act so surprised, you must recognize my appearance."

"You look exactly like Nuso when he had all those crystals on him."

"I _am_ the crystal you speak of. From a certain point of view of course."

"Where are you taking me?"

"To the others. The ship crashing into us shorted out the containment fields over their prospective holding areas."

"The helljumpersgot out?"

"They are holed up within the engineering passages. I believe they are waiting for something to happen."

"Like what?"

"I can hear them talking. But I don't understand the words they are using. Something about a 'synth' on board?"

Jesse stopped walking and stared blankly up at Nexus.

"A synth? You mean a synthetic human clone?"

"If that is what synth means, yes."

"Oh man. I should've known. The helljumpers brought a battle synth as back-up."

"A what?"

"A robotic replica of a human designed specifically for both hand-to-hand and firearms combat. Very, very nasty. Built in shields, self-repairing armor plating, the works."

"Sounds like a formidable piece of machinery."

"Plus each one houses combat AIs. If you know what that is."

"When I copied Nuso to form this body, I copied his thought patterns as well. I know what an AI is."

"So that's why you keeping changing the way you talk."

"I guess so. Just imagine one mind with two sub-conscious patterns."

"I flunked psychology. So, if there is a synth on board than that means it will have to pick the most inconspicuous host to replicate. It will look like anyone. But it has to be human. We haven't programmed any to look like a Covenant race, yet. At least none that I know of."

"Will it change what it's wearing?"

"I don't think so. Just what it looks like."

Jesse scratched his temple. Things were starting to get a little complicated. If the jumpers had brought a synth, then they must have released it immediately once on board. It couldn't go looking like a helljumper, so it would have to find someone else. OR just hid in the engineering sections.There were a lot of theories about what a sythn would do.

Jesse rounded the corner and shook his head. Nuso was holding a Grunt up off the ground by the "horn" of its enviro-pack.

"Me kill you!"

"Stop your squirming. Hey Jesse, what took you."

"I forgot about the teleporters. Took the long way. And met a friend of yours."

"Nexus? More of an acquaintance. He's just our mechanic."

"Mechanic?"

"Yeah. We break it, he fixes it. It's the whole 'perfectionist' deal."

Nuso tossed the Grunt over his shoulder and it dropped into a storage locker and the small door closed and locked behind it.

"Three points."

"Thank you. Okay, the jumpers aren't in the detention section."

"Nexus said something about them holding out in the engineering passages."

"A bit cramped in there."

Nuso looked at his left arm for his com unit.

"Crap, this armor is different. Where's the freakin radio?"

"Is there one?"

"I hope so. Ah ha! Found it."

"On the back of your neck?"

"Compact and loose, perfect."

"What are you doing?"

"Paging a friend."

A familiar face popped up on Nuso's HUD.

"Josh.How's it going?"

"We got pushed back into the lower sections. But we're holding our own. Good thing we coded the teleporters."

"Agreed."

"The bridge crew is still on station. They jammed the doors. We could seriously use some help down here."

"Where is the girl?"

"Narra? She's with me. Her cannons got shot to pieces. She's dressed up though."

"Just as I thought. What's she doing?"

"Um, not much really. Just sitting there."

Nuso shook his head and took a deep breath.

"Shoulda spaced her."

"I actually am glad you didn't. So far she's pulled two warriors out of action when they were wounded."

"At last some fairly good news. How long can you hold your position?"

"Maybe another ten minutes if we're lucky. We've blockaded the blast doors, but who knows..." The picture exploded into static.

Jesse looked at Nuso as the Elite hung his head.

"Lost transmission?"

"It was cut. Oh I hope what I think happened didn't."

"So there are other humans on board?"

"A bunch of kids. Though the two oldest have proven extremely useful."

"Well I've met them. Where are the others?"

"Observation section, forward deck sections. It's locked down tight and the passages are shielded. Nothing is getting in there."

"I wouldn't be so sure. If the jumpers can move through the tunnels of this ship, so can the Covenant. And something tells me those little ducts aren't shielded."

"No, they aren't."

"Then we better..."

Jesse saw it before Nuso. A small fuzzy blue ball of plasma. It seemed to come at him in slow motion. He dove and slammed into Nuso's chest right before the grenade wouldn't stuck to his back. The two landed and rolled. But both were up in a second.

"Who the heck are you!" Jesse yelled before even looking up to see the thrower.

"My name is none of your concern infidel."

"Than tell it to me, Brute." Nuso snarled.

"Ah, the defiant one. You are just as the Prophet described."

"Are you here to fight, or just talk?"

"My orders are strictly defined for me to capture you and this ship. If you come quietly, we will not harm the young ones."

Jesse's eyes narrowed and he was about to charge.

"Jesse. This one isn't to be underestimated."

"Listen to your friend human. I am not something you should trifle with. I am Tartarus. The greatest of the Brutes."

Nuso clicked his mandibles together. Tartarus was blissfully unaware that a certain being was standing on the tall ceiling directly above him.

"Do you always give a monologue?"

"You mock me?"

"I mock everybody. Tell you what. I'll make you a deal. If you can survive me and my friend here, I'll go peacefully."

"An unwise choice."

"Not when we don't play fair."

Nuso grabbed Jesse and threw him like a spear towards the Brute. It pulled a huge hammer from its back and was about to swing when Nexus dropped onto its shoulders and hit it in the face with both fists. Jesse impacted his chest with the full force his MJOLNIR could dish out. Tartarus roared as he went down like a brick.

"Stay down you overgrown monkey!"

"Get off of me infidel!"

Jesse kicked Tartarus in the face and the Brute stopped yelling.

"Is this a bad thing?"

"I'm top priority now. I must have pissed Truth off more than I thought. By the way, nice going Nexus."

"My expertise does not stop at engineering. I can fight if the situation demands it of me."

"Obviously. Okay. Here's the deal. Jesse, get to the bridge. Use your emergency codes to send a distress signal to the UNSC. This ship is tagged as hostile, but if they receive Spartan emergency codes, they'll send help. Nexus, do that jamming signal thing you do."

"Ah, yes."

"I'll get to engineering." Nuso said, pointing a finger at himself.

"And do what?"

"Scuttle the ship. Disable the engines permanently and blow the power systems. This thing will never fly again once I'm done with it."

"For what reason?" Jesse asked skeptically.

"If the Covenant get their hands on the upgrades genius here gave it, then we're in serious trouble."

"This ship was a disgrace."

"Your perfectionist ways will be our undoing."

"The forward cannon is still operational. Maybe I'm not so bad after all."

"You repaired it?"

"Just finished."

Nuso looked at the ground in deep thought.

"If they tow this ship to High Charity, and we can hit the city with the cannon… Maybe we should wait on that distress signal."

"What are you thinking?"

"If we relay the position of High Charity to command. Then think about it. Biggest offensive ever against the Covenant. And we can damage the city, making it even easier."

"Nuso. High Charity probably has half the Covenant fleet guarding it. Our best bet is to try and slice it in half."

"Do we have enough power for that?"

"Maybe. And if we detonate the singularity drive within the area around the city, than the explosion will do even more damage."

"Nexus, get working."

"I'll get right on it."

Nexus turned, jumped into a maintenance hatch and disappeared.

"Jesse. Don't send the signal, but help defend the bridge none the less."

"Bridge is up, right?"

Nuso hit a few keys on the teleporter's panel and Jesse disappeared. He knew what was going to happen. His father had told him of the hunters. If any being is labeled a defiant one, than it's over. Rumors of the deadly assassins that hunt heretics spread far and wide throughout the ranks. And Nuso's father had had enough to say about those rumors.

Nuso could practically feel them staring at him. Tartarus had been bait. Nuso turned and raised his hands, ready for a fight.

"I know you're there. Come out and fight me cowards."

Nuso could practically smell them. Maybe there was only one, maybe there was more. He couldn't tell. But he knew the capabilities of the armor he wore. And the hunters around him had the exact same thing.

"The council has decreed you be brought to them alive. And we will obey." A deep voice said from the hallway in front of Nuso.

"First you gotta make it happen."

"Foolish warrior. You are outnumbered and outmatched. Give up."

Nuso closed his eyes and breathed one heavy breath. His forearms flashed and two pike-like plasma blades shot out. He roared and braced himself for the attack.

"So be it."

"Look, that's all Nuso told me to do." Jesse pleaded with the two Elites that had wrestled him to the floor.

"Figures. All the other decks have been subdued." Josh said as Sam wrapped his arm in a piece of cloth.

"Are you serious?"

"Do I look like I'm kidding?"

"Covenant forces are moving to our position right now. And we're not equipped to hold them off." Jesse said, brushing himself off when the guards let him go.

"What do you suggest than Kelax?"

"Fight or surrender. Neither seems very appeasing."

"If we surrender than we'll just be executed."

"But if we fight, we'll be killed."

Jesse thought for a moment.

"But if we surrender, than they'll most likely take us as prisoners. Which means we'll have more of a chance to come up with something better."

Jesse started pacing around. Josh shook his head and sat on a box next to the wall. He turned to look at the wall for a moment.

"… Now what kind of defenses do Covenant brigs have?"

"Shh!" Josh said, waving his hand chaotically for a moment.

"What is it?"

"Listen."

Jesse tilted his head. His eyes narrowed and he walked to the wall.

"Something is in there." Jesse said in a low tone.

Right after he said that, twosilverhands burst from thebulkhead and wrapped themselves around Josh. He yelled in alarm, but before anyone could do anything the powerful arms pulled the boy into the hole they had produced.

"Josh!"

"Sam, stay back! It won't kill him, yet. Don't give it any reason to."

There was a struggling sound inside, than a dull thump.

"Uh oh."

A silver streak shot out from the hole and knocked two of the guards off their feet. It zipped across the wall and landed on one of the consoles. Kelax's rifle was out in a flash, but Jesse was in the way in an instant.

"Don't give it any incentive to kill you. These things were designed to annihilate all opposition."

Kelax slowly lowered the weapon and stood back. Jesse turned and looked right at the machine. It was sitting like a frog on the holoprojector. Its skeletal form shining in the bluish purple lights of the bridge. Its cylindrical shaped head looked at each and everyone inside with its single sensory eye. It lifted one foot up into sight and dropped Jesse's helmet onto the ground.

"Second generation Spartan One-zero-one, clearance 7461382."

"**_CODE ACCEPTED._** **_SUBJECT IDENTIFIED AS FRIENDLY. SECOND SUBJECT IDENTIFIED, HUMAN, FEMALE, EIGHTEEN YEARS OF AGE. NO THREAT. OTHER SUBJECTS IDENTIFIED AS HOSTILE._**" The hollow robotic voice spat the recorded response.

"Stand down."

"**_COMMAND ACKNOWLEDGED._**"

The android got down from the panel and stood up. Its legs were long and its knees were the opposite angle than that of a human's. It was barely a frame of a humanoid figure, but its multi-jointed arms and mechanical fingers gave it an eerie look.

"What is it?"

"Synthetic human clone. Invented during the lull in the fighting. These things are the future of our fight against the Covenant, supposedly. Unit, what is your designation?"

"**_FOXTROT u8._**"

"Wonderful, an assassin unit. Return the subject you just rendered unconscious."

The android dropped to all fours and rambled to the hole. It stuck an arm in and pulled a limp form out from the opening.

"What did you do?"

"**_THIS SUBJECT USED EXSSESIVE FORCE. ACTION WAS REQUIRED TO SUSPEND ANY DAMAGE FROM OCURRING._**"

Jesse stooped down and took hold of his helmet. He fitted it to his head and set the seals. He bent down and felt Josh's neck.

"He's got a bad concussion. But he'll live."

Jesse stood up and felt the back of his own neck. He shook his head as he stood back up.

"My AI is missing. Which means I have no access to the computers."

"I can do that."

Sam stood and walked over to the console.

"What do you need?"

"To set the drive systems to overload and have the sequence primer uploaded to my neural lace."

"For that, you'd need to get down to the engine room."

"Nexus is on his way. But from what I've heard of him, he probably won't do as he's told."

"Who says?" A voice said from the hole in the wall.

Nexus poked his head out and pulled himself through.

"The singularity drive has been set to activate with a signal I have made myself. But I severed the connection to the engines, permanently. The sublight engines are already armed for an energy spiral. They'll blow at the exact same time as the drive, tripling the detonation. In your terms, theexplosion would be equal to a five hundred gigaton fusion bomb. No shield can withstand the energy levels the shockwave will have."

"What about the forward cannon?"

"At full power, plus the entire forward firing banks. You'll have one shot before the reactors overload from the stress of the damage."

"You've been busy."

Nexus shrugged and placed his hand on the console. Purple slivers of crystal wound their way from his skin into the controls.

"Touch the panel and the program will upload into your suit's systems. Don't worry about range."

"I won't need to."

A dull thump came from the blast door, and then a buzzing sound.

"They're cutting through."

"Yes, I know. Foxtrot, what disguise sets do you have?"

The android stood up again and spots all over its body glowed for a moment. Than a hologram quickly appeared over its body.

"An Elite… Perfect. They do have Covenant sets now."

"I have been programmed to impersonate the enemy. In every way and form."

Foxtrot tilted its head and grabbed a plasma rifle from the floor. He pointed it at Jesse's head and placed his finger on the trigger-pad.

"Every way."


	21. Endgame

Sorry for such a long update. But i haven't been home. I hope to be able to finish Destiny quickly. Since this is grinding down to one or two more chapters. Thanks for being such good readers and encouraging me! I have self esteem problems P

* * *

Jesse didn't move. At the range the rifle was at, it would take only a few blasts to punch his shields away and burn a hole through his skull.

'_Don't move. Android on the fritz aiming plasma rifle at head… I'm friggin screwed._'

Jesse timed the beating on the door just right. The was a flash of light and the visual processor on the synth turned to look. Jesse spun and pushed himself down into a low stance. He grabbed the synth and threw it at the door just in time. The blast doors came off the wall right before the android hit them.

Jesse turned and heard a huge amount of crashing and roaring. There was a long ripping sound then several crunches, then silence. Nothing came through the door.

A single Elite stepped through the doorway and dropped its rifle.

"Combat mode disengaged. Passive detection initiated."

Jesse shook its head. The thing could have taken him apart, but it was expecting, no, counting on the fact he would throw it into the enemy troops. Stupid things would replace real soldiers some day if they weren't so freakin expensive.

"Everyone okay?"

"Not really."

Jesse looked towards Sam and saw blood coming down her arm. He took a step towards her when he saw several blue lights moving down the hallway. Jesse zoomed in and saw four Elites wearing the same armor Nuso had been walking casually down the destroyed corridor.

"Can't I ever just get a single moment of peace? I wish they'd all go Hara Kari."

The Elites walked up to the doorway and looked around the room.

"We have the other. These are only baggage."

"The prophets wish for us to bring the demon."

"Bring them all. We'll deal with thehumans later."

The Elites spread out and plasma strings arched over their gauntlets.

"Come with us or die." The obvious leader stated blandly.

"… We don't seem to have much choice. Now do we?"

Jesse held his hands up, and everyone else followed suit.

"What are you doing?" Sam hissed.

"Ssh. See those tiny holes in the walls behind us? They weren't there a few minutes ago. There're beam rifle barrels poking through them."

"… Oh."

"Yeah. Our best bet is to hook up with Nuso."

"Be silent demon. Or we will silence you. Move."

"Where to big boy?"

The Elite did not respond, but only grunted.

"Strong silent type? I dig."

"We dispatched the traitor with ease. Don't make us do the same to you. The Prophets wish for you alive. An example must be made of you humans."

"You took out Nuso? I highly doubt that. And judging by the fact there are two of your buddies impaled on pointy parts of the wall, I imagine he didn't go down without a fight."

"The traitor didn't go quietly."

Jesse pulled a mental reverse uppercut of victory. He had the thing talking.

"What did he do?"

"He fought. Silence, I will not repeat myself again."

Jesse nodded and continued on. If they had killed Nuso, then they were in trouble. But since a red flat-line hadn't come up on Jesse's HUD since he linked to Nuso's armor, the Elite was still alive. Or the armor was dead. Either way, the probability of Nuso's death was low.

* * *

After almost an hour of navigating the destroyed cruiser, the group finally reached an airlock with another ship attached to it. The airlock door closed, but not sealed.

"Josh, Sam, stay with me."

"What's up?"

"We're about to get Shawshanked."

"It's getting very, very old."

"Tell me about it. You'd think they'd just kill us or something."

"We have orders." An Elite said as he pushed through and opened the airlock. "In."

Jesse walked in and suddenly there was a flash of light.

* * *

"DANG TELEPORTERS!"

"Josh, please."

"Quiet Sam. My stomach is not agreeing with this."

"… Josh you use the teleporter's more than anyone."

"Do you notice my extreme lack of clothing here! The armor absorbed the unstable particles that upset your stomach!"

Josh suddenly convulsed slightly then puked right onto the ground. He plopped down, breathing hard.

"Need, dampeners, from, armor." Josh looked down and his eyes got big. "Need clothes period!"

"Quiet. You aren't the only ones in here. The teleporter obviously was designed to only transport organic material." Jesse said from the shadows in the corner. "Thankfully, I have organic components in my armor that came along for the ride. I have pants."

"Lucky you. Sam and I didn't get that little arrangement. Hold the phone, this isn't a jail cell."

"Yet again, your amazing intellect has reactivated. This is a containment room. It's much larger."

"Where are all the others?"

"Probably in different cells. Or dead."

"Morbid, aren't you."

"No, just tactical. Nuso is morbid when he's in battle-mode. Stuff tends to leak, a lot, liquid stuff. Back in training he got a little out of control and ripped up a training unit. It took five days of cleaning to get the coolant out of the floor. When he gets mad, he gets silent. When he gets silent, blood starts flowing like a hundred rivers. I shouldn't be telling you guys this, but Nuso isn't what most physiologists would consider stable."

"He seemed fine."

"He is. Just don't get any negative emotions into the light. If he stops talking, people die. Trust me, I witnessed his training. He may be young. Maybe only a year older than you two. But he's more deadly than any soldier. And I'm quite afraid that he's going to lose it."

"Why?"

"Because. I know him. He's something of a family to me. I was a member of a three Spartan squad when I was shipped out. They all died in the first engagement. They were stupid. Overconfident with the reports. I barely got out alive."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Nuso is dying. I can feel it. And I can hear it."

"What?"

"Enhanced hearing. I can hear screaming. The kind that comes with torture."

Josh and Sam looked at one another. Jesse looked away just in time before he heard a loud "SMACK!"

"What I do!"

"You looked down."

"Jeez woman!"

"Jesse. Is there anything in here to assist in a little modesty?"

"Sheet metal."

"Somebody's gonna die."

"Just make sure you put Josh's parts in a neat pile so I can put him back together when you're done."

Sam smiled at Josh, who glared back at her.

"Touch me girl, and there will be pain."

"Yeah, yours."

Jesse smiled when he heard a dull thump.

"Okay you two. Enough."

"Fine with me."

"Ground, unforgiving. Can't, feel, toes. So, much, pain."

"Sam, what did you do?"

"Atomic piledriver."

"… Wow."

Jesse hopped up and walked around the expansive room.

"No way out. Only teleporters. Only way is if we had a man on the outside."

"Crystal Nuso?"

"Nexus probably found a lightbulb to upgrade. Stupid engineer always finds an excuse to screw around."

"What are we going to do then?"

"Wait."

"Wait for what?"

"Our death."

"…"

"I'm out of ideas. Completely. We hadn't expected to get this far. I thought we were going to die in the control room."

"What about the synth?"

"Undercover. It probably took another hologram and is enacting its protocols. It's just a computer with arms. A very, very mean computer."

"Who else we got?"

"Nothing. We're screwed. Checkmate, game over."

Jesse dropped to the ground.

"Jesse?"

"I let him down. Why can I never be there? It always happens to him."

"Jesse…"

"It's over."

"Not necessarily." A deep voice said from the other side of the room.

"What the…"

"Say nothing. You're the defiant one's friends? Obviously. Follow me."

"Is that a door?"

"Looks like vents, Josh."

"Jesse, are you coming?"

The Spartan looked at them, then at the floor. Then lifted his left arm to his face.

"Organic components in the mechanics… Okay, let's go."

* * *

"Enough." Truth said, raising his hand.

Nuso dropped to his knees. His hands still entrapped within the rings hovering about six feet from the ground.

"You'll, never, get, anything from me… Stop, trying…"

"You're weakening. Interrogation is simply tertiary in my mind to this."

"Revenge? Did I, scar your, pride… That much?" Nuso's voice was soft, but cold.

His battered body was limp, but his eyes burned with their ever bright intensity.

"You, Truth, are a coward."

"Silence infidel!"

One of the Brutes threw a well aimed fist towards Nuso's head. But his head suddenly disappeared in a blur and the Brute roared in pain. Nuso dug his fangs further into its arm and ripped out muscle and tendon.

"Pbth, pfft. Don't try that again you big ape. Even without my arms I can kill you."

The Brute roared again and pulled a large, curved blade from his belt. It swung in a brilliant arc and was almost a second's time from slicing right through Nuso's chest.Four pop sounds came from his body and a horrible wet crunch suddenly echoed through the large room.

The scythe dropped to the ground, and the Brute follow it. Its neck and back broken at unholy angles. The other guards looked at Nuso, his elbows and shoulders were stretched almost to a ripping point. He had dislocated his own joints to defend himself.

"Idiot." Nuso spat at the dead Brute.

"You never cease to amaze me. No matter what position you are in, heretic. You always kill one of my guards."

"It's a knack."

"One I will no longer be plagued by. You have desecrated the holy word of the Covenant for the last time."

"Bite me."

Nuso heard the sound of a weapon being drawn from a scabbard. He heard a roar, then the sound of metal scraping against metal. His mind suddenly swirled.

"Free yourself! I'll hold off these monsters!"

The voice, so familiar. In his head. In his thoughts. In his heart. One heart. One mind. Brethren in arms. Brethren in blood. Brethren in soul. The code of honor. His father had taught him that. And now, he was witnessing it first hand.

"Ar… Arbiter?"

"Hurry!"

The strangely clad Elite slashed right through a Brute with something that resembled a katana. Another jumped up, but a second blade flashed into the Elite's other hand and found its target swift and true.

"Arbiter…"

The Eliteglared atNuso and he jumped up. Flexed himself and ignored any and all pain. He felt his mind clear, and everything began to slow down. Nuso sprinted over to the Arbiter and held his hand out.

"What are you doing?"

"Give me one of those."

Nuso felt the strong weapon find his palm. There was a platoon's worth of Brutes in front of him. Targets. Only targets. Nuso saw nothing but darkness after that.

The Arbiter watched with wide eyes. His back against the wall. This wasn't a fight. This was no battle. This was a massacre, a bloodbath. Pure and simple. Nothing could stop him. The animalistic roar that escaped Nuso's lungs told the Arbiter one thing. Instincts over training. Sangheili are naturally killers. That's what they were on their home world so many centuries ago. Hunters that relied on their instincts and senses. Over time, militaristic training took over. Then the wars that followed. But in every heart of every Sangheili the hunter sleeps. And when it is awakened, a blood moon shows itself that sun-fall.

Nuso stopped. The Brutes were dead. Their scattered corpses littered the floor. Most of them missing some pieces. Nuso spun around and stared at the huge doors in front of him. Truth had fled through them.

"Nuso."

Nuso turned and hissed. The Arbiter almost took a step back. But with the wall behind him, there was nowhere to go. He took a deep breath and tightened his grip on the sword in his hand.

"Do you know what is happening, young one?"

Nuso growled and took a step forward.

"Blood lust. Hunger. We all feel it. The need for death. The desire for battle is so strong. But a warrior is stronger. Our will is what gives us our honor. Have you discarded that to strike at a brother?"

Nuso stopped. His grip on the sword loosened.

"Wha…"

"Your will is strong, young one. A single year of their training turned you into a calculated soldier. But you know nothing of the rigors of war. It overwhelms the mind and taints our hearts. Will you allow the poison to infest you as well? The same as it did me once?"

"… …"

"You cannot understand. No one ever does. Or ever will. The atrocities I have seen are innumerable. I am aged of killing. Enough is enough."

"I must finish this." Nuso said, his voice again calm.

"Than finish it on your own accord. I am no longer the Arbiter. I am a heretic. To them, worthy of death. But to my brothers, I hope to be a shining star in the night."

"Noble goals."

"I will go assist your friends. The green clad one and the machine are on their way..." The Elite stopped for a moment and looked at Nuso with even greater intensity."When you see her, do not hold back. What you see is not what is true."

"What?"

The former Arbiter dropped the other sword and was gone through the doorway.

"When I see her? What does that mean?"

The blast door suddenly slammed open, and the entrance to the room closed and locked.

"Oh no."

Hovering in the doorway was Truth. His face hard.

"You have killed my guards. You have disgraced the Covenant with your actions. And you have displeased our holylords. Now you must die."

"Not going down without you."

Nuso flipped his sword up and hurled it at Truth. It was flying true, then there was a metallic ring. Nuso's eyes widened when his eyes caught what had happened. It was so fast, it took a moment. Something had caught his sword. From one side of the door's opening to the other, in less than a quarter of a second.

Truth turned to look and smiled an evil grin.

"Kill him, slowly."

A slender form slowly moved out into view. In its hand, the sword.

"Oh no… Narra."

She stood there in the doorway. Her eyes hidden behind a strange helmet. She twirled the sword in her hand and jumped forwards. Nuso looked surprised for a moment, but his eyes narrowed. A devastating kick intercepted Narra before she moved into range. Nuso twirled around and rolled over to the other sword.

"Fine. Let's dance."

Narra spun around and leapt forward again. Nuso jumped up and kicked off the wall. As they passed each other in the air, the swords clashed. Nuso skidded on the ground and twirled the sword in a brilliant kata. The blade hummed against the air in the arcs it drew. Nuso dropped almost into the splits as he set himself in a defensive posture. A hard stance to get out of, but almost impossible to hit anything vital but the head.

As Narra charged again, Nuso slowly placed his hand on the ground and grasped one of the knives from a disemboweled Brute body. She was ten feet away. Then five. Nuso dropped back suddenly and spun around on the ground on his shoulder blades. His feet were sticking up and out at angles. And Narra wasn't able to stop in time. His knee connected with hers and she fell. A slice with the sword and her left arm went limp. A nick with the knife and the side of her head was bleeding. A double kick and she was halfway across the room.

"Too slow."

Narra held her arm. Nuso had cut the tendons.

"You're way too slow. Quick reflexes, but horrible compensation. You've gotten lousy... Pretty quickly."

Narra didn't answer. But attempt to throw the sword one handed. Nuso easily caught it.

"You can't be holding back now, are you?"

Nuso looked carefully. There was a strange scar on her neck. Nuso jumped forwards and looked at it more closely. Almost too quickly for her to immediately defend.

"Hello. What's this?"

Narra swung a right hook, but three jabs and a knee in her gut quickly quelled any other attacks.

"A splice point... You're not Narra!"

A quick grab and Nuso pulled the helmet off. Underneath was a normal face, but lifeless eyes. Grey and emotionless. No stimuli of any kind in them.

"Clone!"

The exposed clone tried to head butt him. But a swift motion from his arm and it stopped. It looked down at his arm. Where he had punched it into her chest to his elbow and out the back. He ripped his arm out and the clone collapsed.

"ENOUGH TRICKS TRUTH! Show yourself and give me a run for your money!"

Several light footsteps came from the doorway. Two more thin forms appeared. Both with the same form- fitting garb and eye cover.

"Why misuse a perfectly good bodyguard when you can make so many of them?" Truth's voice said through a loudspeaker system.

Nuso dropped to his knees as two more appeared. Then four.

"I am so going to die. Well, no better time than the present."

Nuso flicked the other sword into his left hand, twirled them for a moment than charged forwards.


	22. Breaking and Entering

"Whoa!... Holy!..." Nuso ducked and slide to avoid the relentless streams of attacks.

Nuso was having a hard enough time dodging the attacks being thrown at him much less putting up an effective counter. There were eight clones attacking him. And though not as strong or as quick as the real thing, these clones were surprisingly skilled.

Nuso's twin blades flashed again and again as he tried to ward off the circling assassins. His mind screaming for even the slightest piece of armor to protect him. Then again, the clones weren't wearing any either. Which was both a blessing and a curse. They weren't well protected, but also they weren't weighted down.

One swung a knife at his face and nicked his bottom left mandible. Nuso caught sight of an opening and plunged his right hand sword into the assailant's abdomen. Nuso kicked the body off and jumped. He punched his legs out sideways as hard as he could and knocked three others away. But a solid kick to his back sent him spinning and skidding. The swords flew from his hands and slid across the metal floor.

Now weaponless Nuso jumped back and looked frantically around for something to use. Against seven opponents, hand-to-knives was suicide.

"Need, something, pointy!" He hissed through his teeth.

Nuso backed up into the wall and looked up. The illumination rods above him had small plasma spikes sticking from the top.

"Perfect."

Nuso charged towards the approaching assassins. But he slid to a stop and spun around. Sprinting at the wall he jumped slightly and took five steps up the vertical barrier. He grabbed the rod and pushed off. He roared as he sailed right into the group. Landing in-between two and knocking them off their feet. He swung the rod and threw another off balance.

Two grabbed his arms and a sharp pain came from his chest. Nuso threw his assailants off and slammed a punishing hammer kick into one in front. The loud sound of bones snapping could be heard.

"Get off of me!"

Nuso spun himself around, breaking the grips on his arms. He landed a bone-shattering back-handed punch on another and sent it crashing to the metal floor.

'_Can't keep this up forever. Got to find a way to even the odds. I've decked three and the others just get more room to total me. At least the floored ones are staying down._'

Nuso pulled one of his infamous slides and went right between two clones. He sprinted towards the wall and pressed his back against it. Putting slight pressure onto his palms so he could spring away at a second's notice. The remaining clones slowly made their way towards him. Taking their precious time to formulate another plan of attack.

Nuso breathed deeply and readied himself. Maybe if he could just keep taking them out like he was, then it would be over pretty soon. Hopefully with him still standing. But the clones were spreading farther and farther out. A flanking attack.

Nuso gripped the plasma flare tighter in his hand and tried to keep as many of the clones in view as possible. He whipped his head left and right, but every time he did, the opposite group would move forwards quickly.

"Not good. Need armor. Need Anubis!" He hissed more to himself than the clones.

A metal plate suddenly shot into Nuso's view and clattered across the floor. Nuso looked up quickly and saw a silver streak shoot out from the opening.

"What the heck?"

"Nice suit Jesse. It fits you. Being seven and a half feet tall and all. You should look into basketball."

"Shut up, punk."

"Aw come on man. It looks good! Q-ball."

Jesse made a low growling sound from his throat as he twisted the suit more appropriately to his frame. The cargo bay they had found was full of almost every type of equipment the group could think of. But unfortunately, no MJOLNIR. So Jesse had to settle with retrofitting sections of Hunter armor onto himself.

"It isn't very heavy. But it's clunky. Hard to turn my body."

"You'll live. Besides, the shield is cool."

"Now this sucker is heavy. But nothing I can't handle. And I've always wanted to play with this." Jesse said, holding the fuel rod cannon up with a sinister grin.

"So what's the plan Jesse?" Sam asked as she pulled a strangely fitting jumpsuit over herself.

"Plan? We get guns. We shoot things. And stuff blows up. End of plan."

"You Spartans are pretty one-tracked, aren't you?"

"Yeah."

"Hey Sam. Nice suit. But I don't think the dimensions are quite right."

"It works. Any weapons yet?"

"I found plasma pistols and carbines. That's it."

Sam grabbed a pistol and shoved it into a sash she had wrapped around her waist. She pushed Josh aside and hefted a carbine.

"What's up with you?"

"I didn't fight the last time we busted a slam. This time I get to. Capish?"

"Yeah, whatever girl. I'm going full load." Josh said and held up two carbines, forcing a maniacal giggle.

"That just sounds wrong."

"Quiet you two. Guards."

"Oh goody."

"Alright you two. You know the drill."

Sam ducked into a cargo container and shut it. Jesse hunkered in the darkness of a tall stack and Josh hid somewhere in an assortment of larger boxes.

"Alright Jecos. What did you want to tell me?"

"I heard that Regret mentioned something about having his guard replaced."

"Can you tell me why?"

"Something about security. Reasons I don't think I can delve into at the moment. But Verss, I think they are planning something. And I don't think it has our best interests in mind."

"Ever since those Brutes joined our ranks, they have been superceding us in every way. More tasks are being taken to suit them. If this doesn't cease, expect retribution from our brothers."

"I don't expect. I look forward to it. I'm sick of being pushed around by Regret."

"Just because you are an Honor Guard doesn't mean your opinions are to be freely given. You are young. In time, you will understand."

"Have you spoken to Karn yet?"

"He was on his way to the containment units through the vents when I last saw him. He was going to break the humans out."

"Why?"

"Because right now, we need them."

A loud clunk came from a set of boxes and both Elites turned to look.

"Someone is here!" Jecos hissed.

"We cannot let them leave."

Two popping sounds came as plasma swords were ignited. Josh jumped out from where he had landed and aimed a carbine at each Elite.

"Hey guys! Have a seat and chat a while!"

Jesse walked up behind them both and pressedthe fuel rod guninto Verss's back.

"You two must be the ones the other Elite told us about. And judging by your conversation, he was right."

Verss deactivated his sword and Jecos did the same.

"Though it isn't exactly what I would like. This, Karn, said you two had a way for us to get off this ship."

"Yes."

"Okay, second question. Why the heck are you guys helping us?"

"Karn and I are resistance. Jecos is a new recruit. We have been working to assist the humans in the fight against the Prophets ever since the war started."

"Never heard of you guys before. And I have highest clearance."

"We are saboteurs. And we have never exposed ourselves to your race.Now come. There isn't much time. Karn has already set the way for us to leave. Jecos as well."

"What? Why me?"

"You must. Take this." Verss handed Jecos a small crystal. "Go with them. Now that Karn isn't the Arbiter anymore, he can protect us no longer."

"But, Verss."

"Silence. Go."

"Wait. Hold it. We didn't agree to anything."

"You will, or stay on this ship. The duplicate sent out a powerful distress signal to your fleet. For what reason I can only imagine that human ships will be jumping in to attack."

"Like hell they will. Human ships can't fight Covenant cruisers very well. We'd never start a fight."

"But in the event that the shield's deactivated, what then? Karn has disabled every shield generator on every ship. No one knows it yet because the shields are not active."

"… Fine, whatever. Got used to working with you guys anyway. LEad the way. I want outta here before all hell breaks loose."

Nuso stared at the machine sitting like a frog in front of him.

"**Hostiles detected. Friendly LACE detected. Unarmed. Powered assist engaged.**"

"A synthetic? Where the heck did that come from?"

Nuso spun his torch and smacked another clone away. They were almost within kicking distance now. And the synthetic was just sitting there. Nuso saw the panel on its back open, a small keypad on it. A gleam of hope maybe. Maybe it could be reprogrammed with a basic combat program. It would at least buy him some time.

A hard breath. Nuso concentrated. Before he had simply been defending himself. Not letting his instincts and training do the work. The two things that could work best for him. Nuso leapt up and planted his feet firmly into the wall and pushed off with all his might. Corkscrewing away he rammed straight through two clones and rolled up next to the synthetic, nearly thirty feet away.

His fingers flew across the keypad as Nuso brought up the android's primary functions.

"What the… Combat unit! When did they start making synths like this?"

"**Friendly LACE detected within vicinity. Power assist activated.**"

Before Nuso could even react the android's part suddenly began to detach from the main body. They rapidly began to attach themselves to Nuso's arms and legs. Nuso's reflexes screamed for him to defend himself, but he knew better. One wrong move and the hydraulics would crush every bone in his body.

The android's main body opened and clamped itself onto Nuso's chest and tightened. Nuso felt something grab his head and a piercing pain burned its way through his neck.

"**Uplink complete.**"

The clones had begun to move in again. Their sickle-like blades at the ready. Nuso set his jaw, ready for anything. Whatever the android had done, he hoped it would help. Like a second skeleton the android had reconstructed itself where Nuso'sown boneswas. Grafting a parallel rig that mimicked his every movement.

"So it has a few tricks." Nuso looked up at the clones and made the grin movement with his mandibles. "Come get some."

The clones had given up a slow approach and were running towards him, blades ready to cut and slice. Nuso turned and simply watched them run towards him. Tapping his foot to the rhythmic beat of their steps. Nuso set his shoulders and rammed his forearm into the first one he could reach. Immediately spinning and making a slice-like attack on one to his left. Not even waiting to see what had happened he cracked a roundhouse kick into a third, watching as it spun onto his neck with a loud "crack!"

Nuso felt a sharp pain make itself known in his back. He immediately jumped up and slightly backwards. Landing right on the clone's shoulders. He let his momentum carry him back until his hands were bent back to the ground. Pulling his legs along he flipped the clone and slammed it on the ground. Pulling his arm back he landed the fatal blow to the back of its head.

Looking up, Nuso saw only two clones still standing. One was limping on a useless left leg.

"Wow."

The clones looked at one another and turned to run. Nuso was about the chase when he stopped. Something in his head, a voice.

"Targets retreating. Eliminating."

Nuso felt his arms rise and aim at the clones. The familiar sound of an automatic weapon suddenly filled the air. Round cases were being ejected from the synth parts on his forearms. The clones were cut down in the spray of bullets. Falling to the ground with bleeding holes all along their bodies.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold the phone! Shut them off!"

"Unit wishes deactivation of chain guns?" The same eerie voice came from what seemed every direction.

"Yes, unit wishes deactivation. What was that?"

"I fulfilled your objective."

"My objective was to not get whacked. Not slaughter everything in sight."

"My programming dictated I take action."

"Basic combat protocols, huh?"

"I am Archon. Combat AI class five."

"An AI? Why would a synthetic have an AI?"

"I have been given specific orders. For Nuso Kerumee."

"That would be me. What a fine way to deliver them."

"I bring word from command that for your recent actions they have purged the earlier orders of your elimination.Theywere not grounded reasonably. You have been pardoned. You must return to home base to receive further orders."

"Are youfrickin kiddingme?"

"Negative."

"What a bunch of bureaucratic bull. That's some serious discrimination going there."

The AI didn't answer. Nuso looked at the doorway Truth had fled through. The Prophet running had become more than a nuisance. It seemed like months since he had been given any orders. Even though it had been only two weeks or so.

"And when am I supposed to return?"

"Immediately."

"Screw it. I haven't come this far."

Nuso jumped towards the door and fit his fingers into the slight crevice between the two sections. He pulled with all his might and sparks began to fly from the sides. A massive explosion of blue shards of glass and smoke and the doors were ripped from their tracks. Nuso tossed them away like handkerchiefs and rushed through the burning hallway.

"Do you wish to activate life sign readers?"

"What? Motion tracker?"

"Negative. My sensory preceptors have been integrated with five different detection systems hybridized into a life signs detector. Much more effective than a motion tracker."

"Do it. And do those chain guns have triggers?"

"Affirmative."

"Then give them to me and don't mess with them anymore."

"Affirmative. Activating full combat protocols. All uplink abilities at user's preferance."

"Perfect. Then, shall we?"

Nuso ran through the hallways. His mind set on one objective. Ripping Truth's lungs from his bloated chest. Just one last thing to do. Take on his bodyguard.


	23. In Sight of the Goal

_JettMann here _yawn. _I got a total of about three hours of sleep last night but i'm still working to post Dark Destiny. Mainly because people email me saying how much they like it. I'd like to thank many of the people who have done this and not annoyed me by just saying "update soon" in the reviews. As you can see, the story is beginning to wind down. But i think you'll enjoy this story since it has a few easter eggs in it. I've already begun to accumulate ideas for the sequel cuz i'm bored. Until i post again_. yawn

* * *

"I do not trust you." Jecos said with his mandibles clenched.

"Same here," Josh stated plainly, jabbing Jecos in the side with one of his carbines.

"Enough. And I thought you and Sam had problems."

"I'm staying out of this one." Sam said, wavering her hand passively as she walked in the opposite direction.

Josh and Jecos were glaring at one another, with Jesse in the middle to prevent a bloodbath on Josh's part.

"When did Verss say to move, human? You spoke to him. He told you what the plan was. Specifically leaving me out of the conversation."

"He said I was more reliable. Whatever that means. Otherwise I'll know when to leave."

"Verss is not my father!" Jecos spat venomously at Jesse, but continued to stay a few feet from the Spartan's reach.

"You need one." Josh said sarcastically.

Jecosstood up straight andsnarled at Josh. His fangs bared to full length.

"If you think those carbines are going to stop me if I choose to disregard Verss's commands, you are mistaken. I did not attain Honor Guard status by passing simple tests."

"Chill out, squid-head."

A flash of motion and Josh's feet were suddenly two feet off the ground, and a long sharp shiv pressed against his neck. Jesse blinked, the Elite had rushed past him faster than he could've reacted.

"I have had enough of your insults, human. When I joined the resistance I did not expect to be paired with your kind!"

"Get off of me!"

"Jecos! This isn't the time or the place! Now, this 'Verss' guy said we needed to work together. For both our people's sake. I think he was being a little overdramatic, but we do need to try and work together. Please."

Jecos let Josh go and the teen dropped to his knees, quickly getting up and wiping the tiny spot of blood on his neck.

"I was just messing around! You don't have to get violent!"

"Josh, walk and talk." Jesse said, and pointed towards acornerof the cargo bay.

Jesse walked behind Josh as they made their way to the privacy of the secluded spot. Jesse pushed on Josh's shoulder to force him to sit on a container.

"Jecos is not like Nuso. Nuso has a sense of humor. Jecos is very honor-bound. I can tell you right now because I know these guys. Nuso's spent the last year around humans. And he tries his best to act like us. For what reasons I can't tell you. I don't even know. But do not get on this one's nerves. Next time that knife touches your neck, it's going to go straight through."

"What's the big deal with them anyway? Their just overgrown lizard things anyway."

"A very, very deep sense of honor. And it works both ways. Do me a favor. Leave Jecos alone. And by that, I mean stay right here. With me."

"Aw man. Come on."

"Do you want me to knock you out? I could flick you into a coma."

"I hate my life."

"I could end it for you. I'm in the mood."

"That's okay. I don't need your sympathy." Josh said with scorn dripping from his words.

* * *

Sam finally shook her head and turned from watching the two guys. They were just sitting there, being boring. Pretty what they always do. But this Jecos character was pretty interesting. He was doing some weird meditation thing now. Probably for venting serious anger. She could relate to his situation.

Taking one look back at Jesse to make sure he wasn't looking her way, she walked into the safety of the line of boxes that cut the two others from her vision. And her from theirs. Taking a deep breath, she began to approach the Elite.

* * *

Nuso looked around the corner, and quickly hid again. He had followed what the AI had identified as a kinetic energy pattern that only a Prophet's hover-chair emits. And now the door it went through had a few unwanted, but not totally unexpected obstacles.

"Four Honor Guards. All with energy swords and what looks like beam rifles. Six other Elites in active camo."

"The chain guns are at your disposal."

"Anything less, rapid fire?"

"Rockets."

"Are you serious?" Nuso asked, his attention instantly ripped from the situation at the prospect of heavy firepower.

"Shoulder mounted 98mm light rocket pods. Fires eight rockets per salvo. I make all rounds and rockets by using specialized nanites units within the chest module."

"Unlimited ammo?"

"Correct."

"Even better. Show me."

Several small square block-like objects along the back and shoulder moved along until they connected with one another to make an eight barreled pod made in the shape of a heptagon. Seven around the edge and one in the middle.

"I wish my old armor had this. But I don't want to kill them."

"You killed the others."

"Clones are different. I _hate_ clones. Anything non-lethal?"

"No. My chassis line was not designed to utalize non-lethal tactics."

"Well, better do it the old fashion way. Find a way around."

Nuso looked at the opening to the hallway that would expose him to the guards. It had a rather wide space between the top of the hallway and the ceiling of the passage he was hiding around the corner in. Nuso looked at the wall and pushed his fingers against it. The metallic analogs to his fingers attached to the wall and he pulled himself up. He was making rather good time. The only problem was that his feet didn't have any attachments. This meant no magnetic pads to cling to the wall with. So it was rather awkward to move up in that fashion.

Nuso looked at the curved shape of the opening leading to the hallway and saw a slight ledge right above it. Barely large enough for him to put his foot on. He pulled himself up a little more and rested one foot on it, than the other.

Just then, bootsteps could be heard clacking against the metallic floor. One of the Honor Guards walked out from the hallway and down the passage. He pressed a switch next to a doorway and walked through.

"Me thinks a disguise is in order." Nuso said with a grin.

"Affirmative."

Nuso shimmed across the wall and dropped silently to the floor. He hit the switch to the door and walked in. The room was plain with a large holo-screen at the back and small doors lining the sides.

"Best make this quiet... Archon, got any string?"

"Conductive wire. Explain your motives?"

Nuso just made the strange grin he liked to do. A quarter-inch thick black cord fell away from his back to about two feet in length. Nuso grabbed it and wrapped it twice around both hands. One of the small doors opened and the Honor Guard stepped out. It's helmet tucked under its arm as it fiddled with its energy sword.

It looked up and narrowed its eyes. But shrugged at the empty room and walked towards the door. It grabbed its helmet and was about to put it on when a black cord wrapped around its neck. Too quickly for the Honor Guard to react, Nuso dropped from the ceiling and wrapped the cord around its neck again. Tightening the wire until the Elite slumped into unconsciousness.

"Always wanted to do that. Shosii was right, it is rather interesting to do. Now as he would put it, 'on with the sneaky.'"

Nuso grabbed the Elite's back plate and dragged it into one of the small doorways. After a few moments he emerged, this time in full Honor Guard armor. Tugging at the armor on his forearms to get them to sit right.

"A little tight on the chest. But I think the helmet is a good fit. This is a HUD I could get used to."

"Affirmative."

Nuso bent his fingers to make sure the analog attachments weren't uncomfortable in the gauntlets, then walked out of the long room. Back into the passage and into the opening to the long hallway. And back on Truth's trail.

He walked casually back towards where the Honor Guard had been standing and turned to stand at "his" post. One of the other guards turned to him and gave a slight nod.

"Tikant boshoruun unous dijukt?" The guard said plainly.

Nuso tilted his head slightly at the question.

"Yokuva itash gosaa." Nuso said and looked at one of the other guards.

"Pekuz." The Honor Guard said and turned back to watching the hallway.

Nuso shrugged and walked towards the doorway to the next section and stepped through when it opened. Obviously the previous guard had been set for the next shift. At least him returning to the previous post hadn't blown his cover.

There were guards inside too. But Nuso kept going. They didn't even stare. It was normal for Honor Guards to go in and out. Making the ceremonial armor the perfect disguise. Finally he reached what was probably the biggest blast doors he'd ever seen.

"The bridge."

"Kinetic energy patterns end behind this door."

"Good."

"Detecting four large life signs inside. As well as one smaller."

"Brutes. And Truth's bodyguard. Any suggestions? You're the combat robot."

"The chain guns."

"That's what I was thinking. But do I risk bringing all the other guards down on me? I'd best do this in a more personal fashion."

Nuso looked down at his belt and pulled a small blue orb from his belt.

"Plasma grenades have such simple designs that any sort of reconstruction can give it different properties."

"Explain."

"Able to be set off via remote."

Nuso opened the grenade casing and fiddled with the insides for a moment. Then removed a small square from the casing and closed it.

"See. Remote grenade."

"I have archived this procedure for future use."

"Of course you did."

Nusopulled the door open just enough for him to look through. Making sure he loked like he was standing guard and not doing anything "suspiscious."

"It's the bridge alright. But it's really big. I can see Truth. He's at the front talking to someone, can't tell who or what though. The Brutes I can handle. There're only four of them. And Brutes aren't known for their intelligence. Watch this."

The door opened all the way. The Brutes all held their weapons tighter, just in case. But nothing came through. After a moment a rolling sound came from the right corner of the opening and a dormant plasma grenade came on in. Stopping a few inches from one of the Brute's. They all looked at the grenade. Then at one another.

One slowly reached down and picked it up. Nothing special, just a normal plasma grenade. Shrugging, the Brute set the grenade to its belt.

"I'll have to remember to tell Jesse about this one. Granted of course I live through all of this."

"Chances of survival without a proper estimation are seventy-five percent. Taking into consideration an enemy is carrying a bomb."

"True."

Nuso tappedthe small device in his hand and the grenade on the Brute's belt activated. The Brute looked at it in surprise, grabbing it. Right then there was a flash of blue fire as the large alienwas vaporized. The explosion sent the others onto their backs. But after a moment, they began to pick themselves up.

"Now or never."

Nuso spun around the corner of the door and launched himself into the air. Landing right next to the door controls he hit the close key then the lock switch. The door chimed and then turned red. Nuso quickly crushed his fist into the controls and ripped the console apart.

"That should give us a few minutes."

Nuso turned and watched as the Brutes slowly picked themselves up. Staring at him with rage in their eyes as they tried to rise to their feet. Nuso just stared back and cracked his knuckles. He breathed deeply and watched as the Brutes seemed to slow down as they forced themselves up, even with what was probably more than a few broken bones. They reached for their specialized plasma rifles that were tucked into their belts. But Nuso didn't give them the chance. His awareness now at full speed, he could easily counter a gun-draw.

He surged forward cracked his fist into the stomach of the closest Brute, and at the same time swiping two long knives from its shoulder sash. He pulled his arm back and crushed it against the Brute's skull, pulverizing the alien's jaw and temple. Flipping one of the knives to his right hand he spun and threw the knife at a second Brute. The blade sang as it twirled through the air and implanted itself in the creature's throat.

Nuso looked up to stare right into Truth's large eyes. The Prophet was staring at him with both confusion and anger.

"Traitor! What have you done?"

"Come to finish what I started."

Nuso grabbed his helmet and pulled it off. Promptly dropping and kicking it into the last Brute's face like a soccer ball. Truth stared at him with surprise, but not so much as before.

"You are like a shadow to me."

"Just trying to make myself useful."

"You are a stubborn fool. You are in the middle of a fleet of warships. How can you possibly think that you will escape?"

"Actually my plan ended at me tearing you limb from limb."

"Then have at me."

Nuso clenched his fist around the knife in his hand. He knew what Truth was planning. And that he had only one obstacle left. The only problem was if he was willing to break through it.


	24. The Clash

_I think i'm recovering from my hectic summer and getting back on my good update schedule. Here's the next installment. I htink i'll have the next up in a day or two._

* * *

"You really are a thorn in my side." 

Nuso said nothing. He'd have to get closer if he was going to do this. Truth's shields couldn't be defeated with anything that he had. And with the beam projector pointed right at him, he couldn't closer either.

"This is where it ends." Truth's voice was confident, but his eyes told no lies; he was afraid.

"I couldn't have said it better myself."

Nuso clenched the knife in his hand a little tighter. He heard a slight noise to his left and spun to face a blur. Suddenly he felt his feet lift off the ground and a deep feeling of vertigo fell over his body. The world was spinning so quickly his eyes couldn't focus on anything. He felt his arm hit something and his elbow was bent back too far. The spinning stopped and he felt the ground come, right on his side.

He heard a buzzing in his ears, and his eyes still weren't adjusting. He felt something in his mouth and spit out a large glob of blood. He placed his one good arm on the ground and slowly pushed himself to his feet.

He looked around; the blow had completely thrown off his sense of direction. But standing right in the middle of the room was an Elite. Golden armor plates were evident on its arms and legs. But a strange vest-like piece on its torso. A long black band covered its eyes, but Nuso could still recognize the face.

"Narra. I knew it would come to this."

"You should have killed me."

Nuso grabbed his wrist and corrected his arm with a loud "snap!" Bending it a little, just to see if it was still usable.

"You can still walk away." Narra said, turning to face the door.

Nuso took the opening andjumped forwards, covering the fifteen feet between them ina little over asecond. He landed a punishing uppercut to her chest and sent Narra several feet off the ground. Grabbing her legs Nuso pulled and crushed her into the floor. Spinning he launched he right into the wall. She twisted slightly and landed on the wall with her feet. Pushing off she covered the distance and slammed both herlegs into Nuso's chest. He flipped backwards, but used the momentum to land a killer heel-kick to her jaw. Landing on his feet he raised his hands, ready for more. She landed on her hands and cartwheeled back onto her feet. They stared at each other. But again she took the inititive.

Narra ran forwards slightly and flung herself into a corkscrew, slamming the back of her left forearm right onNuso's head. He felt himself falling forwards, but pulling his legs up and kicked her shoulders and threw off her landing. Both landed in heaps about ten feet from one another. Nuso slammed hispalms into the floor and flew up about five feet, landing in a three-point position. Narra did an equally impressive recover, spinning up and flourishing with a swing of her arms.

Nuso looked from her, to behind her where Truth was watching. Protected behind the kinetic force field. One that did not stop physical attacks, or anything behind the field. Nuso clicked his mandibles and charged forwards. Narra leapt forwards to intercept him, but a fraction of a second too early. Nuso planted a foot right on her back a launched himself at Truth.

"No!" The Prophet screeched.

Nuso felt his hand go numb as it passed through the field. He grabbed the Prophet and tore him from the hover-chair, sending him sliding across the polished floor. Two hands found his armored back and again he felt himself spinning through the air. Narra jumped up and kicked off of the wall. Slamming her fists into Nuso's breastplate and cracking the armor. He skidded across the ground before coming to a stop against one of the holo-panels. His head, still carried by the momentum slamming up against the projector with punishing force.

More blood was coming from his mouth. But in much greater amounts now. He felt his jaw with great care. Funny, that there was no pain. In the fact one of his mandibles had been completely severed. He held his mouth and watched as the blood began to seep through his fingers.

"Finish him. Before he causes more torment to the Covenant's name."

Narra walked slowly towards him, bending only to pick up the knife which he dropped when she first attacked. She was walking very slowly. Maybe taking her time, or contemplating which major nerve structure or vein to sever. Nuso felt his hand drop form his mouth. Purple blood forming a circle around him. His head slowly dropped and he slumped a little farther down, his eyes half closed.

Narra bent down onto one knee and pulled the cracked armor from his chest. She placed her hand just below his neck and let it stay there for a moment. She stood and looked at Truth, and shook her head.

"Good. He didn't know what he was dealing with. You shall be rewarded."

Narra looked at Nuso's limp form. She let her eyes fall to the knife in her hand. The curved blade gleaming in the lights of the bridge. She placed it in Nuso's blood soaked hand and closed his fingers around it. She stood, taking one last look at him before walking back towards Truth as he slowly trudged to his hover-chair.

Narra turned one last time, staring at the knife that hung loosely in Nuso's hand. She looked down and away, right as the fingers tightened on the blade.

* * *

Sam sat down in front of the Elite. It was breathing heavily, and rather slowly. It opened its eyes and stared at her with a powerful gaze. 

"Have you come to torment me also?"

"No. I'm not like Josh. He can be a jerk sometimes, but he means well… Sometimes."

"I will never understand you humans. You are so… Unpredictable."

"Thank you."

"… Are you afraid of me?"

"No. Not in the sense that I think you'll hurt me. But I am scared of what you 'are.'"

"Explain."

"The Elites are born soldiers. You're so much more formidable than humans are. Heck, I've seen one Elite throw a grown man halfway across a room."

"Sangheili."

"Excuse me?"

"My race, we are called Sangheili."

"It's, very beautiful. It fits you."

"May I ask if you have a point to make to me?"

"Just making conversation."

Jecos tilted his head and made the same movement with his mandibles that Nuso did. The way they smiled.

"Yes, we are strong and fast. We have to be."

"Can I ask you why you joined up with this resistance thing?"

"… Another time perhaps. I do not feel that you should know."

"Why not?"

"Er… It is… I'd… I cannot answer that question. But please do not pester me on the matter."

"I understand. It's something you're still coping with. I know how you feel."

"I haven't even told you and you know how I feel?"

"You lost someone. I can see it in your eyes."

Jecos made the grin movement again and pulled himself a little closer to Sam.

"You are quite insightful. Yes, I did lose someone."

"Someone close to you. A friend?"

"You could say that."

"Family?"

"Now that is not fair. How can you know this?"

"My mom was a physiatrist. A person who is employed to read other people for a living. I learned a few things."

"You humans are a very unsettling race. Your perception borders on telepathy."

"I hit home didn't I?"

"My brother."

"What was his name?"

"Jisha. He was older than me. When our father was killed on the battlefield, he took me under his care. I learned everything I know from him. And we served together. Even to the rank of Honor Guard. Until Regret had him publicly executed for a simple mistake. One that he did not commit."

"What happened?"

"It was a procession through the Grand Square on High Charity. Some clumsy Jiralhanae knocked a Light Pedestal from its rigging and it almost fell upon the hierarchs. Jisha grabbed the Pedestal and held it up with all his might. The Hierarchs were able to move to safety before he released it. No one was hurt, but the Jiralhanae blamed Jisha and said he knocked the Pedestal down. He was beheaded that very day. He didn't even defend himself.He took the death blow with honor in the face of those who had none."

Sam blinked a moment and rubbed a stray tear from her face.

"That's awful."

"The Prophet's are not bringers of Truth, Mercy, and Regret. They show no mercy. They hold no regret. And they speak only lies."

"Jecos. I lost family too.My two sisters...In a car accident."

"Car?"

"A vehicle. We were hit by a much larger vehicle and it rolled our car over. I was thrown from the car. My mom and dad got out too. But my sisters were trapped. The car caught on fire. My dad did all he could, but the smoke inside suffocated them. It was a long time ago. But I can still remember it like it was yesterday."

"You carry my burden as well then."

"Yes."

"Then we are kindred."

Sam smiled as she wiped another tear away.

"I guess so."

"What is your name?"

"Samantha. But everyone calls me Sam."

"Samantha. My name is Jecos Unamee."

Sam put her hand out reflexively for a friendly handshake. But Jecos instead grasped her forearm and held it for a moment.

"May I ask how you came to be in a place such as this?"

"I don't know. A couple plasma explosions came from outside my house. There was a bright flash of light and I woke up in a Covenant space station. From there Nuso's been looking out for me."

"Ah yes. I see. There was mention that some soldiers abducted humans for some reason. I did not hear the purpose for it though."

"And I hope we never find out."

Jecos looked up above Sam's head. She followed his gaze until she locked eyes with Jesse. He was standing over her. And at her vantage point, looked like a skyscraper.

"Uh, hi."

"What are you doing?"

"We were having a conversation, human. Do you have something to say because of our actions?"

"I already had to deal with one of these troublemakers. I don't want to have to do it again."

"I haven't been making any trouble."

"She is not bothering me."

Jesse looked at Sam again and motioned for her to follow him.

Jecos stood and helped Sam to her feet. Jesse raised an eyebrow at the gesture, but said nothing. They walked back to where Sam had been sitting before and stopped.

"Jesse, I was just…"

"No."

"No what?"

"Do not get emotional with him."

"Who are you to tell me what to do?"

"I am the only authority in this room. And I'm telling you it's a mistake."

"That is possibly the most egotistical thing I have ever heard you say."

"I'm not perfect. Far from it. But I don't trust him."

"Well I do. Now stop trying to be my father and let me make my own decisions. I'm old enough to judge for myself. And I don't need any overgrown super-soldier telling me what to do!"

Jesse blinked for a moment. Then nodded his head.

"He won't hurt us Jesse."

"I'll only be sure of that once we're on good old fashioned Terran technology. This is his turf. And I don't trust the home team."

"Just let me talk to him."

"Do what you want. But I'm not responsible anymore."

"Good."

Sam turned and walked rather quickly back to where Jecos was leaning against a cargo container.

"Is there a problem?"

"No. Just a jerk who thinks he can order me around."

"He doesn't trust me."

"He doesn't trust anybody. I think that's how Spartans are."

"I know how he feels." Jecos said, locking eyes with Jesse before the Spartan walked off out of sight.

"Do you trust me?"

Jecos's eyes got very big. And he took a small step back.

"Err… I…"

"Good, because I trust you."

"… Thank you."

"No problem.I just wanted to make friends.But I need to go talk to another right now."

"The insolent one?"

"Yeah, him."

Sam smiled as she walked over to where Josh was sitting. He looked up at her, then over her shoulder.

"Well?" He whispered.

Sam closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them again. There was a radical change. The pupils changed from the perfectly round shaped to a thin vertical slit. The soft brown color turned to a deep emerald. And they shone, even in the shadow of her hair.

"...They trust me."


	25. Strangers Among Friends

_Yeah, that one was a big surprise. I'm not giving anything away aboutwhat i have in mind. But just to let you know, this has been planned since they were brought into the whole thing. If you have a good memory about certain details, you'll figure it out. I shall say no more._

* * *

"They trust you, do they? Tell me again, why am I the antagonist in this, again?" 

"Come now. You always play a better jerk than I can." Sam said as she touched his cheek with one of her knuckles.

"Do you think they possibly suspect?"

"No. How could they? With you always making a fool of yourself and me taking advantage of the situation. It's flawless. Perfect manipulation."

"But our last mind plays never had one of our own in them. He knows who we are."

"And he refuses to even associate himself with us. The nerve. Doesn't he accept his own kind?"

"Technically he isn't anymore."

"Then we should have no problems dealing with him."

Josh smiled at the thought. His brilliant crimson eyes growing larger with anticipation. The two continued to talk about strange matters. What they meant, Jecos couldn't even begin to understand. But one thing was for certain, they were not what they appeared to be. The human wouldn't understand, he wouldn't listen. So it was best not to tell him. Not if he would do something stupid and ask them questions. Jecos knew there had been something strange about the two ever since he had first seen them. They didn't act right. Too coordinated in their actions to let pass. He was surprised this "Nuso" hadn't seen it.

Jecos turned away from the container he was hiding behind and walked back towards where he had been sitting. Verss had taken all of his weapons. Why, Jecos couldn't guess. He had his shiv, and it was quite sharp. But he needed something more practical if the two creatures attempted to kill him. Something much more practical. Maybe he was overly paranoid. He had been accused of it quite often. But sometimes, being paranoid can serve a purpose.

Jecos looked behind him, and around the corners. No one was around. He looked at his right arm guard and touched one of the glowing crystals. A small device slowly attached to his palm, just big enough for his fingers to grab and hold. He squeezed and the crystal slowly moved forwards until it was right above where his fingers began and the palm ended at the knuckles.

Jecos breathed hard and let himself calm. They weren't human. They couldn't be anything from the Covenant. Were these something new? Something no one had yet encountered? He would save the mind game for later. Right now, he had things to do. Top of the list, find a very good vantage point with which to make himself scarse in.

* * *

"My lord. Should we not, take the body?" 

"Yes. Once the guards open the door, they will dispose of it."

"Dispose? Should he not get a warrior's grave?"

"An honor for which he is not worthy."

"But he fought..."

"Enough. Speak of it no more."

Narra looked at the ground. Something about this was wrong. The blow she gave him could not have been lethal. She turned to look again. He hadn't moved. Somehow she was expecting Nuso to leap up and launch himself into another furious assault. If she hadn't finished it when she did, Nuso's brute strength would have snapped her in half.

She turned to watch the forward panels again. Then she jerked her head forward. Something was wrong. She spun around and looked at Nuso's body. She walked slowly over to it. It hadn't moved, but somehow it was different. She looked down at the blade and saw the fingers tightly clenched around the handle. If memory served its purpose, she had put the blade end in his palm.

She blinked for a moment and felt his central nerve structure again. Still no change. There was no reverberation. But still, she couldn't let the fact that the knife had moved leave her mind. She turned and thought to walk back to where Truth was examining the stars. She sighed and began to take a step when a pair of powerful arms wrapped themselves around her neck. Her air supply was completely cut off in a fraction of a second. She struggled to let out even a cry, but no sound came from her throat. She fought as hard as she could, but sheer brute strength had her in its embrace. Her vision began to get fuzzy and the pressure increased. Everything got blurry and her arms dropped. Darkness covering everything, and then she saw no more.

Nuso slowly lowered the unconscious body to ground. She would be out for a while. Giving him the perfect window of opportunity. He hunkered down and put one foot in front of the other. Getting closer, and closer. He still felt drowsy from the quick hibernation, but it was wearing off. At least he wasn't bleeding anymore.

Only two steps from the chair. One step. Nuso let his hand pass through the kinetic field. He lashed out, slicing right through the circuitry in the back of the chair and spinning downwards, chopping the gravity projector right off the unit. Truth screeched as he was thrown from the destroyedchair and landed in a heap. He whirled around, but on seeing Nuso, began to scramble backwards slightly.

"No. No, no, no, no. It's not possible!"

"I live to surprise."

Truth could only cower as a powerful hand wrapped itself around his extravagant clothing and lifted his frail body from the floor.

"Now, what to do? Fillet? No, too long. Break in half? Too easy."

"I can amend your crimes. You can take your rightful place in the Covenant again!"

"Excuse me? Are you begging for your life?"

"I can give you amnesty!"

"Bite me."

Nuso smirked and a look of horror and dread came over Truth's face. A click sound came from Nuso's wrist and Truth looked down just in time. Just in time to see the chain guns recycle an ammo line.

"Buh-bye."

Nuso raised his two left middle fingers at once in thecustomary human gestureand pulled the trigger. The chain gun buzzed as Truth convulsed in his hand. The bullets leaving pockmarks in his back as they exited. His agony-filled screams echoing through the large room. Even when the cries stopped, the chain gun did not. After another moment, the powerful weapon sawed off the Prophet's lower half completely, leaving Nuso with nothing but a bloody sack of meat in his hands.

"Well, that was most enjoyable."

"What do you suggest now?" Archon's eerie voice echoed from inside Nuso's head.

"Well, that was kinda the end of my plan. But I'd say we go through the maintenance areas till we get to the hanger bay."

A heavy thud came from the doors to the bridge and Nuso clicked his remainingmandibles in thought.

"Well, best be heading out."

Casually walking over to where Narra was lying unconscious, Nuso grabbed her and lifted her up. Hefting Narra onto his shoulders and walking to the other side of the room. He touched a small part of the wall and a hidden door opened.

"Thanks for pointing that one out, Archon."

"My sensors have detected a winding pathway through here to a large storage area. Several life signs are in the storage area. Cannot isolate until within ten meters."

"Great.I'll be going then."

Nuso walked through the opening and it closed behind him.

* * *

"He has completed his goal." 

"Nuso? When?"

"Just now. And he is coming."

"Good. Your piece moved then. It's my turn."

"Don't cheat."

"Have I ever?"

"Yes."

Sam closed her eyes again. Her big brown eyes reemerging. She smiled sweetly at Josh as he reformed himself as well. She walked softly back where Jecos had been. But he was gone. She looked around, but he was nowhere to be seen.

"Where did he go?"

"Looking for me?" A deep voice said from behind her.

"Gah!"

Jecos swung down from the pole he had his legs looped into. He looked at her from his inverted position with a strange fire in his eyes.

"Samantha."

"Jecos."

"What did you talk about?"

"Some things from back home. I remembered a few things we needed to discuss."

"Such as?"

"I'll try to keep that my business."

"I could start prodding you. You didn't seem to have any problems doing it to me."

Jecos's voice was firm, but it had a tinge of something else on it. Malice maybe. Sam couldn't be sure.

"Are you okay? Is something wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong. But I just feel overly anxious to get out of this hole."

"I don't blame you."

Jecos squinted his eyes, but just pulled himself back up to the low overhand and scrambled up towards the higher part of the ceiling. Sam raised an eyebrow, but shrugged. She sat down and breathed a long, slow breath. She sighed and let her head fall back onto one of the containers behind her. Then she tilted her head. There was a faint clanking sound coming from below her. She pushed herself into a prone position and placed her ear against the floor.

Right then one of the floor boards popped off and moved to the side. Sam's eyes got big as an Elite's head popped up. But she looked closer and saw a small web of faint scars all along his neck.

"Nuso!"

"Bwah!"

Nuso dropped back down the hole with a loud "crash!" A shuffling sound came back up the hole and he jumped up. Reaching back in he pulled the still unconscious Narra through and closed it behind him.

"Hi Sam. Long time no see."

Nuso stood and looked around. He nodded to no one Sam could see and walked off to the left. Leaving Narra behind. He saw what he was looking for and walked right up to the tall figure in front of him.

"Hey Jesse."

"Heh, at least God still has a sense of humor, sending you huh?"

"Blame that and Truth's phenomenal stupidity. That of which we no longer need worry about either."

"No more Truth?"

"Gave him the automatic treatment."

"Legs?"

"Upper Pelvic."

"Nasty."

Nuso and Jesse looked at one another and slapped a high-five.

"Okay. Verss said to wait for you. Since this was the only other logical place to go, we've been waiting."

"Verss?" Nuso narrowed his eyes at the name.

"A friend. There's a small ship docked to this one. I think it was Truth's personal transport. Nexus has already hotwired it I imagine. He's been ghosting around us ever since we boarded this thing."

"How do you know?"

"He keeps tapping into my LACE and sending me messages."

"Wow. And no one knows about it?"

"No. But word is out about what this fleet is and where. Human ships are already on the way. And once they arrive Nexus is going to release a focused signal of that jamming beacon he can emit. He's going to disable almost every Covenant shipout here."

"I love a good slaughter to even the odds."

"Come on. We need to get out of here. The countdown has already started."

"Can we get out in time?"

"Nuso. We Spartans are legendary for escaping time limits with the sheer odds against us. Quite legendary."

"Then let's add to the legends."

"Profound."

"Let's rock and roll." Nuso said, flourishing an odd pose with his fists clenched.

"Don't say that."

Jesse looked over his shoulder and saw Sam poking Narra with her foot.

"You brought her?" Jesse asked with an upturned eyebrow.

"Yeah. Call me soft. But I don't want her to die."

"Do I sense something on your voice?"

"… Maybe. You can't say you never had a flair for a member of the opposite gender."

"I now hate you for the thoughts you bring to my mind. Bad, bad thoughts."

"Shut up and load up. We're getting out of here the easy way."

"What's the hard way?"

"Waiting for a miracle. Usually something cliche and overrated."

"And by this you define the easy way as?"

"Blowing everything up."

"My don't we have similar thought patterns."

"Don't remind me."

Nuso turned and strode back over to Narra. She was breathing slowly and softly, but looked as if she was starting to come out of it. Best she was on board something other than a Covenant battleship at that moment.

"Nuso?... Nuso!" The boy bounded over to where Nuso was kneeling and smacked the Elite on the back. "I thought you were dead! By the way, what is all this silver stuff?"

"Nuso, what happened to your face?" Sam asked, pointing at his mouth.

"I got hurt."

"How?"

Nuso didn't answer as he pulled Narra over to one of the containers and propped her against it. He stood and stared at her for a moment before walking back to where Jesse was standing. He had taken the Hunter shield offin favor of a second fuel rod gun.

"Think you're going overboard on the weapons?"

"I'm not the one sporting a combat synth all over himself plus Honor Guard armor, minus a chest piece."

"And it's pretty cool too. Chain guns. Rocket pod. Enhanced everything. The armor is for artistic flair."

"Okay, okay. Don't make me jealous."

Josh looked at the two as they continued to talk. He looked at Sam and she shrugged. He bent down and looked at Narra head on. Looking back at Sam and smiling, he edged a hand towards the Elite's neck. He got only so far when he stopped. There was a sound that resembled a blade being pulled across a metal hull. And something incredibly sharp was pressed against his throat.

"Just what do you think you're doing?" A vicious hiss asked from above the boy.

"Jecos. Where did you…" Sam's voice trailed off as she followed his legs up to where his ankles were hooked against a tether line like a bungee rope.

Jecos pressed the blade a little harder against Josh, drawing some blood. Josh got the picture and stood up.

"You must believe I am as ignorant as a Grunt. You think I have no ears?"

"What the heck are you talking about?"

"Maybe I am young. Maybe I am not as wise as others. But I know manipulation when I see it." Jecos did not remove his shiv as he dropped to hisfeet from the rope he had been hanging on. "Step away from her."

"Who made you…" Josh felt the blade dig a little deeper and he stopped talking.

"Step away. Or I will make the hull very, very messy."

"Hey!" Nuso's strong voice yelled from the other side of the room. "What are you doing?"

Jecos looked at Josh and bared his fangs in a manner that only he and Sam could see them.

"This is not over." His voice was full of venomous malice, like a viper about to strike.

He jumped and grabbed his tether, pulling himself back up to the high ceiling.

"What was that?" Nuso asked as he reached the spot where Josh was dabbing his cut.

"I tried to check for a pulse since I couldn't see her breathing. And suddenly that wacko went knife-happy over me, again."

"Did he deserve it?" Nuso asked, now looking at Sam.

Sam shrugged, but her eyes suggested otherwise. Nuso breathed deeply and stared at Josh.

"She's recovering from an injury she sustained. And is conserving energy to heal it. She's breathing much slower than normal. Besides, you wouldn't have found a pulse anyway. With no actual central circulatory system, our only large arteries are around either of our hearts."

"Two?"

"Yes."

Josh looked at Sam with surprise. News to them. Nuso looked at either one of them and shook his head. He turned and walked back to Jesse and the two made their way to the cargo bay door.

Sam watched until they were out of sight then smacked Josh across the head.

"Good going. Not only is Nuso suspicious, but Jecos actually 'knows' what about us. All that work gone down the tube. All for what? Did you actually think in her state you could possibly subvert her?"

"I could now." Josh said, letting hand slowly move towards her neck again.

But a deep rumbling growl echoed from above them and Josh pulled his hand back quickly.

"Doesn't miss much, does he?"

"He can't even see us. I don't even think you could do that Sam."

"Yes I can."

"Another time. Nuso and Jesse are probably about ready to bust out."

"How do you know?"

"Because the ship's shields just failed."

"Oh. That could be a problem."

* * *

Nuso looked at Jesse and nodded. 

"Best round up our compatriots."

"I'll take the stupid kids. I've gotten used to handling them. Take Jecos and go in front of us. You and him should prove to be quite a team. Just watch it, he's dangerous and won't hold back like you do. He will kill others without a second thought. I don't think he's quite stable."

"Neither am I. But that's not stopping anyone."

Practically on queue, Jecos landed in a three-point position behind the two soldiers. Jesse spun around and stuck the fuel rodarm gun in Jecos's face.

"Don't startle me like that!"

"I overheard that we were leaving?"

"The shields just went down. Can't you feel it?" Jesse said, more to Nuso, but Jecos was faster.

"Yes. The generators failed."

"Feel what?"

"The shields make the ship hum very slightly. Its kinda like a buzz under your feet if you aren't wearing boots"

"I see."

"I could explain that in full detail but we have not the time nor do I have the patience. If Nuso and I are going ahead, then let's go." Jecos said, pulling a long sharp blade minus a handle from his belt.

"What about Narra?" Nuso asked and Jecos cocked his head.

"She is still unconscious. But I imagine she will awake any moment. I made sure the others would not touch her though."

"That's, good… I think. Alright, Jesse, slug her on your shoulders. I'll need the mobility."

"With the shields down the hallways are going to be crowded."

Jecos twirled his shiv in a brilliant arc and finally held it back, blunt end against his wrist.

"Then let's have at it."

Jecos walked up to the large and heavy looking door and without a thought of the moment, proceeded to kick it. Jesse was about to jump in front, the blast doors looked too heavy and thick for even him to bust through with a running start. But the two doors made a horrible crunching sound as they were blown off their rigs and sent ten feet down the hall, slamming into one another and landing in heaps of crushed metal.

"Holy…"

"Come on. There is work to be done." Jecos said and burst down the hallway with a surge of speed.

Nuso looked at Jesse. Jesse looked at Nuso. Their eyes were big, but Nuso shrugged and followed after Jecos. Answers would come in time. And they had better be good ones.


	26. The Escape

Nuso ran behind Jecos as the warrior sprinted through the endless hallway. It went along the entire length of the ship. But there was no one there.

"Covenant troops will soon be swarming through here. We must hide."

"Why?" Nuso asked, not quite getting the idea.

"If we continue any farther we will be cut off from your friendswhen the troops arrive. Here we can ambush them. And still hold a line for them to come. I suppose several dozen Jackals and Brutes between the others and us would not be very healthy."

"Those odds don't sound pleasant."

"I am fond of bad odds."

Jecos clenched his fist a little tighter around his shiv. Nuso's eyes grew larger when a small trickle of blood began to seep down his arm.

"What are you doing?"

Jecos looked at him, then at his hand.

"An old Honor Guard habit I suppose. Blood fury would guide our hands to victory. Hard to break."

"Blood fury?" Nuso spoke with a strange, far-away look in his eyes.

Maybe that's what had happened to him.

"Stay alive long enough to see its power revealed." Jecos said with a sarcastic fling to his voice.

"Answer me this if I don't."

"You may ask."

"How did you cave in a door it would have taken me several tries to even dent?"

Jecos grinned slightly. His eyes closed in thought.

"That would be left for another to explain. Though I'm sure you've heard it before. I prefer to keep my past to myself. Though I have many different ways of explaining it."

"You lie?"

"With phenomenal expertise as well. I have tricked beings they say no one can bluff."

"How well?"

"I can control my emotions very well. Dissuading others by making myself imbue a certain emotion. It has worked quite well. And as I have seen I have not lost my touch."

"You'd make a good spy."

"You have no idea. Now quiet, they are coming."

Nuso hunkered down, ready to burst out on a second's notice. Footsteps began to approach, and many of them. Jecos twirled his now bloody shiv once for good measure then tensed his muscles to strike.

"I've been waiting for this. I have the chance to fight back for myself." Jecos said, splitting his mandibles in a small grin.

"I sense aflashback in that." Nuso said, eyeing the Elite with a passive interest.

"Another time."

Right as a leg appeared in their vision; Jecos surged up and swung his shiv. There was a screech of pain and purple blood splattered Nuso in the face. But it was too light to be Elite blood. Nuso sprung up, jumping over the mutilated Jackal and bashed his arms into two Brutes as they made their way to see what had happened. The momentum they had and Nuso's counter-force caused them to flip around on his arms and land with a resounding "crack" on the ground.

Jecos spun around, his shiv gleaming as he sliced right into a Brute's throat. He landed, pulled the blade around and cut into its stomach. Finishing the howling creature with a powerful axe kick. He didn't stop as he jumped and wrapped his ankles around an Elite behind the Brute and spun corkscrew fashion. The Elite's neck snapped like a twig and Jecos grabbed the ceiling, pulling himself up and slamming the limp Elite against the bulkhead for a flourish.

Nuso saw what had happened as he head butted a Jackal, smashing the creature's face in.

"What the heck are you doing?" He roared as yet another Brute showed itself from the now growing pile of bodies.

"Winning." The one response Nuso couldn't counter against.

"Do you have to kill them?"

"Yes."

Nuso ducked under the Brute's wild swing and placed his hands on either side of the creature's waist. He pulled the creature in front of him as a plasma bolt was about to find its mark. The energy splashed against the Brute's back, burning away its unarmored vertebrae. Nuso used his shield again as a series of Needler bolts buzzed right towards him. The stream of purple rounds hit the Brute and Nuso threw the limp body right back at the attackers, right as the collection of rounds caused a massive detonation. The concussive force blew right through the gunners and knocked several of the others off their feet.

"Jecos! I'll hold the line! Go back and get the others! We aren't stemming this tide!"

"Why am I the messenger here?" Jecos yelled as he decapitated another Jackal.

"Because I said so! Go!"

Jecos growled and spun around, his shiv sparking against the bulkhead as he drew it across the wall. He surged down the hallway and around the bend to the cargo bay. He heard a loud buzzing sound coming from the hallway, but paid no mind. He rushed into the cargo bay, skidding on his heels.

"We must go! Quickly!"

Without missing a beat, he spun around and dashed right back out the door. Jesse flexed his arms in the large armor and hefted his fuel rod guns. Sam and Josh both had twin plasma rifles, and they were ready to use them. Jesse hefted the unconscious Elite onto his shoulderandran out the doorway and after Jecos.

Sam and Josh were on his tail as they followed after the loud, clacking footsteps of Jecos's extravagent armor.

"Crap, that guy is fast. Too fast." Jesse said through his teeth.

"Where did he go?" Sam asked a little disconcerted.

"To the right."

"Then let's…"

"Shhh!" Jesse hissed, cutting Sam off.

"… What is it?"

"I thought I heard something."

"What?"

"Gunshots."

Jesse tore around the bend and down the hall. He could see Jecos now, the Elite was a blur as he sprinted through a series of broken doors and out of sight through a half-open one. Past it, Jesse could see the flash of gunfire.

"I think Nuso's getting trigger happy. Come on. He's plowing the road."

Jesse picked up the pace again, but slowed when he saw Josh and Sam huffing to catch up. Hejogged a bit, but still kept up a fast step. Running, ducking, and jumping through the damaged doorways he finally reached the half-open set and looked around. The hallway was absolutely filled with bodies. Jecos was in the process of gutting a Brute while Nuso was firing two arm mounted machine guns into a large crowd of Jackals.

"Where are the Elites?" Jesse asked more to himself than anyone else.

Sam shrugged, but Josh was too busy rooting Nuso on to listen to Jesse. Jecos waved for the group to follow and sped down the hall. Jesse was hot on his tail, but the Elite would now and then put on bursts of speed that left the Spartan in his dust. He ducked through a doorway and into a small docking room. A single airlock evident on the wall.

"In! Go!" Jecos roared as he shot back out the hallway towards where Nuso was stomping a fallen Brute in the face.

Jecos leapt, kicked off the ceiling and sliced right down a Grunt's atmosphere unit. Punting the smaller creature like a football he sent it streaming right into a Jackal. The Grunt's breathingunit still venting methane. There was a brilliant flash of fire and the hallway was shrouded in thick smoke.

"Come on!" Jecos yelled into the smokescreen.

A blur of motion shot right past him, too fast to even see other than a silver streak. Jecos turned and bounded after it and into the docking room. Nuso was standing halfway in the airlock, holding the doors open with an arm and a leg.

"Automatically closes in the case of fire. Go."

"They close quickly." Jecos said as he stepped under Nuso's leg.

"I'm quicker."

Jecosheard the swish and clamp of the doors shutting. Nuso placed a hand on his shoulder and Jecos parted his mandibles in a smirk. But the smile was empty, and there was something hidden beneath it. A pain maybe.

"You alright?"

"Yes. But there are some things that we must speak of. Private things."

"There are rooms in this ship, are there not?"

"We will need more than that. In our own tongue."

"_I see_." Nuso stubbled over the words, he was rusty.

"_Meet me where she sleeps when you are ready_." Jecos said in the deep throated language, his accent perfect compared to Nuso's

"_I am not adept at speaking this way_. _This had better be important_."

"_Would you stake your life on those words_? _Or 'hers'?'_"

Nuso nodded and Jecos walked quickly into the smaller confines of the escape ship. Nuso breathed in and hit the detach switch on the holo-panel. He ran through the halls until he found what resembled a bridge. Josh, Sam, and Jesse were all on stations, but not doing anything.

"This stuff isn't translated! And we don't have Anubis to help us!" Josh complained at the top of his lungs.

"Then move!" Nuso roared and looked at the controls. "This is gunner. Sam is sitting at helm. Jesse, you're on the com. And this fourth is ops." Nuso did a quick calculation in his head as he jumped from one station to the other. "Jesse on guns. Josh on ops. I'm on helm. Sam on com. Switch spots, or we'll get the business end of a MAC round!"

"What?"

"Don't argue!" Jesse yelled as he leap into the gunner's chair, though it had been made to accommodate an Elite.

"At least this ship isn't disabled."

A loud thunk came from behind Nuso, but before he could turn a silky voice made itself clearly heard.

"I can isolate what is being affected by my signal. Making it simple to zero out ships I do not wish to be affected."The echo-like voicestated matter-of-factly.

Nusoturned to seethe mirror image of himself right in front of him.

"Nexus. You disabled the security systems. But I'm the only one who can read this."

"I was going to get to that."

"We do not want to be in the middle of a MAC slaughter-fest."

"That would be most unfortunate on our part. I will attempt to translate what I can."

Nexus walked to the helm console and placed his hand on the holo-plate. An electrical burst surged over the controls and every console began to cycle through dozens of symbols at unreal speeds.

"I have translated what I could without a full understanding of your language. But it should do."

"Thanks. Now let's get out of here."

Jesse finished pulling off the bulky armor to make his seat more comfortable and grabbed the controls.

"Weapons online. Two plasma torpedo units and six point-laser autoguns." Jesse said as he brought his interface up.

"Coms, up and running." Sam stated rather blandly; obviously not enjoying her communications assignment again.

"All systems are at full power." Josh said, bringing the ship status up on his panel.

Nuso grasped the controls and powered the engines to max.

"Okay Nuso, punch it!" Jesse said with a nod.

Nuso touched the throttle slider and pushed it up to max. The ship shot forwards and away from the fleet in a matter of seconds. The powerful engines pushing the ship at an incredible rate.

"Don't go much farther out. My signal loses strength over distances." Nexus said in his eerie voice.

"How long before we have any response?" Jesse asked as he spotted onanother ship, but held his fire.

"I can't be sure. I sent the distress signal not too long ago." Nexus said, staring at the large forward sensor panel.

Samhit the long range sensors andher eyes widened.

"We got out just in time. Sensors are picking up a lot of incoming."

"How long?" Nuso looked over to her for a moment, but quickly returned his gaze to his screen.

"Maybe a minute. Likely less."

"Sam. Use this to send once they jump in." Jesse said and tossed her a piece of paper.

"Transmission code?"

"It's a top level beacon. ONI ships use it to distinguish one another. It'll declare friendly units in a firefight too. Meaning that if we want to last five seconds against sixty thousand archer pods, you'll put in that code and broadcast it high-stream."

"But, won't that tell the Covenant we aren't friendly if I broadcast it?"

"They'll be too busy to care."

"Yeah, too busy dying." Josh said with a fake evil laugh.

Nuso checked his view-panel and saw massive slipspace ruptures opening all around them.

"Whoa. Isn't that a little close for our ships?" Nuso said, pointing to one massive cruiser as it jumped in almost on top of them.

"… Yeah. They should be coming in a hundred kilometers from here." Jesse said as he stared at the massive underside of the cruiser through his gun-sights. "And those don't look like archer pods."

"Hey you two. One of those big ships is hailing us!" Sam yelped as a long stream of code burst across her screen.

"Sam, transfer the message to me." Jesse said as he pulled his hands out of the gunner controls.

There was static for a moment before a wizened face appeared on the screen. A massive line of ribbons adorning his left shoulder.

"Admiral Berkley. Spartan One-zero-one reporting. We are in command of an enemy skiff."

"We know. The anonymous communiqué we picked up told us everything. And if it hadn't had your command codes in it we would never have come. Are you safely away?"

"Yes sir. And we have disabled the Covenant warships as well."

"Then keep your heads down. Gunners, open fire."

The screen went blank as huge flares of light burst from the cruisers. The MAC rounds slammed into the Covenant ships with pinpoint accuracy. And without shields to protect them, there was no delay, and no deceleration on the part of the protective barrier. Unhindered, the hypersonic rounds drove straight the disabled ships, tearing them apart. In a single salvo over eight tenths of the Covenant ships had been obliterated.

Josh hollered a triumphant war cry and jumped from his seat. Nuso sighed a breath of relief as a follow-up attack tore right through the surviving ships.

"A complete and utter victory. Congratulations." Nexus said as he stared right at Nuso.

"Yeah. But at what cost? I'd better go get some answers. Some very long overdue answers."

"I'll come too." Josh said, hopping up from where he had tripped over himself.

"No. Alone. Jesse, make sure I'm not followed."

"Can do."

Jesse stood up and grabbed Josh by the arm. Josh looked up at the Spartan and rolled his eyes.

"Fine."

Nuso nodded and walked out into the hallway. He found his way easily through the ship. It wasn't large, maybe half as big as a normal Covenant frigate. And he quickly discovered the route to the guard quarters and followed the path. The ship wasn't large enough for a full crew. It was obvious the only personnel it ever had were Honor Guards.

He reached one door that was ajar, but stopped right outside it. He heard something that sounded like whistling, but in a much lower key than a human could make. It was a soft tune, and had a oddly familiar ring to it.

Nuso peeked around the doorway just enough where he could see in with one eye. Narra was lying on a cot with Jecos sitting on the adjacent one. He was the one whistling. He had a small holo-pad in his hand and was reading. Any trace of his Honor Guard armor was now gone. Replaced by a strange, black colored suit that reminded Nuso of something, but he couldn't quite place it. Narra would stir now and then and Jecos would stop and place a hand on her before returning to his reading.

Nuso thought it best to watch and wait. Something about this seemed strange. And maybe if he waited, he would understand more about this strange one. But the true question was whether or not he could be trusted.


	27. Many Secrets Part One

Just a note, if you see Italics (_like this) _in the story, that symbolizes the Sangehili language. Just to clear a few things up before people get confused.

* * *

"_Why won't you wake up_?" Jecos strong voice asked from the room.

Nuso's eyes narrowed. What could Jecos possibly want from Narra? And why hadn't she woken up? He had only cut off her air for a few short moments. She passed out, yes; but that had been almost an hour before.

Nuso heard a soft groan, then the sound of something being dropped. He whipped his head around and looked in. The holo-pad was on the ground, and Narra was trying to push herself up. A thousand things to do flooded Nuso's mind. Should he restrain her? Knock her out again? Wait for more effective authorities?Or wait and see what Jecos would do. But maybe he should call in for Jesse to come...

No. Even at his age, he was the most capable of handling others of his kind. The thought lingered. His age. It was so hard to imagine that he was so young. It couldn't have been more than two or three weeks since he left his training center to journey to his first engagement. Haspice Four had been the start of what had seemed an eternity.

Nuso shook his head of the thoughts and concentrated on watching Narra. Ready for anything. Jecos was holding her arm and keeping her from losing balance.

"Easy. Easy on that arm.Don't go and hurt yourself just yet." Jecos said soothingly.

He helped Narra over where she could sit down.

"Wha… Where am I?" Her eyes were clenched, as if in pain.

"Safe. You're safe."

Narra slowly opened her eyes and looked at Jecos. Her eyes slowly widened and a bright shine came over them.

"Jecos… Jecos!"

She wrapped her arms around Jecos's neck and embraced him. He was startled, but didn't fight it.

"Well, it's good to see you too."

"I thought you had left! I thought you were gone!"

"What brought you to the conclusion I no longer cared? Leave you to Truth?I would sooner rot.But I didhad to wrap a few things up first."

"Truth… He's dead, isn't he?"

Nuso moved into the doorway and folded his arms.

"Yes, yes he is." Nuso said with a strong gaze, letting his eyes fall on both Jecos and Narra.

Narra slowly let go of Jecos, her eyes not leaving Nuso's. They looked at one another for a long while.

"I was wondering when you'd wake up. I didn't hurt you, did I?"Nuso asked, his voice a little softer, but still holding to it's rough and tough edge.

Narra didn't answer. She slowly stood up and walked towards Nuso.

"You killed him. Didn't you?"

"Yes. Right after I knocked you out."

Narra looked up into Nuso's dark eyes for another moment.

"Then, thank you."

Nuso held his tongue to the obvious question. He tilted his head at her, then looked at Jecos.

"What do you mean by that?"

"If you had not killed Truth. Then I would have been revived and returned to his service. A life I am thoroughly glad to be free of. And by bringing me, you have reunited me with my brother."

"Brother?"

Jecos walked over to his holo-pad and picked it up.

"Brother." He confirmed.

Nuso looked from Narra, to Jecos. He unfolded his arms and let a deep breath out silently.Making sure neither of them saw.

"That explains a few things."

"My name is Jecos Jasumee. First Echelon to the Prophet of Regret. Until recently. Once I learned that Truth had strung my own blood up as a shield, then I was through."

"Something we will not have to worry about as well.The Covenant are leaderless now."

"For only small time. They will present a new Truth as his successor. And a new Arbiter will be proclaimed. One likely not as open-minded as the last."

Nuso nodded as he sat down on a cot. Narra sat across from him and Jecos came to sit next to her. She was dwarfed by the much larger Elites, but not intimidated and had no need to be.

"I just have a question."

"And that is?"

"Whose side are you on in this?"

"_I'm on the Sangheili's side. I fight for my brothers. I fight for our freedom. We are slaves to the Prophet's will. And I wish to be burdened by it no more. You are lucky. You were brought up with the view of the Zealots. They did not attain that title for nothing_."

Nuso jumped up and backed away slightly.

"_How do you know me_?"

Narra looked at Jecos and he stood.

"_I know many things about you_. _There are quite a few matters of interest in your life_. _You have become famous among all Sangheili_. _Even though the Prophet's fight to keep your name a mystery to us, we know that there is a prominent figure fighting for us_."

"_I have no idea what you are talking about_."

"_Your attack on Shining Brilliance. The space station you were first kept in. Your battles against impossible odds in the arena. Nothing of this could possibly go unnoticed. That's when Verss took interest. He was the one who trained me. He spoke for me._"

"_Was he on any of those ships?_"

"_No. He and the rest of the resistance aboard those ships made their escape some time ago. To go to the home base. He has a base of operations there. He'll be taking over. He's the one who told me about you._"

"_I know that name. Verss… Nicramee?_"

"_Correct. Then your memory does serve you. He was a Zealot, alongside your father. They were both present when the _'_accident_' _happened._"

Nuso slowly sat back down. He rubbed the raw, but knitted nub that remained of his destroyed mandible. He had only met Verss once. And it had been when he was very young.

"_You are not what you appear to be. Of that I am certain. Neither is Narra, though she has not lent me much details in that department._" Nuso said, pointing his fist at them.

"_She would've been more talkative, but an oath is an oath. And now that you have disavowed that oath, we are free to speak._"

"_Jecos, does he have to know_?" Narra pulled on the black cloth of her brother's arm.

Jecos placed a hand on hers and took a deep breath.

"_You are correct. Though it took quite a bit of investigating for you to come to that fact. Neither Narra nor I are entirely _'_real_' _anymore. When she and I were young, there was an accident. As they say. But in truth, it was no mistake of fate. Our home was destroyed to weed out potential heretics because of an uprising. There is a never ending hunt for them. The Prophets are so paranoid they can't help but cower and whimper in fear of us fighting their plans. Even before they shared their technology with us, they feared us. Technology that is not inherently theirs. We made them cower. With our swords and our spears we made them shiver in the cold of our blades. And I am sick of the fact that now they rule us. But forgive me, I have strayed off subject. In the attack, a powerful explosive was set off. Narra had been wounded in her leg and I was carrying her when it went off. She was pulled from my arms and burned so badly almost her entire left side had to be repaired. And eventually replaced._"

Narra buried her head in her arms at the mention of that. She curled into what looked like a little ball and sat very still. Nuso blinked for a moment and then nodded for Jecos to continue.

"_My injuries, were far more grievous. My entire back was destroyed. My spine and ribcage were shredded. And most of the muscles in my arms and legs were burned so badly that they were practically cooked enough to eat. But the Prophets found us. Corrupted members of our own kind took us to them. Our battered bodies werebarely alive, barely. We were rebuilt, as you can see. As an experiment on whether a new breed of warriors could be formed from damaged and tattered remains._"

Nuso looked from Jecos, to Narra. They were both looking at him with a strange light in their eyes. He parted his mandibles in a small grin and held back a snicker.

"_Then we are not that unalike. I myself have been highly enhanced with mechanical upgrades. I am stronger, faster, and what some would call _'_better_.'_ But I, like you, wish for normality. My life is incredibly harsh. And I am forced to do things I am not proud of. But I had no need to hide. In fact, I have not had these enhancements for very long._" "Nuso said, pointing his his neck to show one of the long scars from the scalpel.

"_Then you are fortunate. Narra and I have been forced to bear the dishonor of their failure for three high revolutions._"

"_Five years. That's too long._"

"_Too long to live in fear. To be hated by your own kind because you are no longer one of them._"

"_But that's not true. You're still Sangheili._"

"_But not in their eyes. We are nothing now. Lower than Grunts. But we would not let this stop us. Wehid what we were and fled from our creators. Eventually returning as simple soldiers.We made our way up. I taught Narra everything I knew about fighting, and in turn she taught me. We created our own style of combat. One that only we could use. And from it, our abilities soared. How else do you think outcasts like us, at our ages became such high ranking Covenant members. Our prowess in battle. Narra is not as skilled as me, or as strong, but she is just as formidable._"

Nuso stared at Jecos for a moment. He hadn't even been able to beat Narra. And Jecos was better? Nuso hadn't met something that had been able to beat him one-on-one. Maybe this was it.

"_I'm glad you didn't kill me, as I thought you were going to, Nuso._" Narra said with a smile.

"Don't… Don't mention it." He stuttered, reverting to English for a moment.

"I will let you two alone. There are things you should speak of." Jecos got up and nodded to Nuso. "But first, I must let you know. Do not trust the two young humans. They are not as they seem."

"What do you mean?"

"They are liars, like me. Only they can make us see things that are not there. Believe things that we shouldn't. They fabricate mistrust and hostility around them. Nothing that you have seen has been true. They are playing life as it was some kind of game. And we are simply fodder for them to control. Heed my warning. And sleep warily."

Nuso's mind flooded with this new information. He couldn't begin to understand whatJecos meant by that. But so far, Nuso had no reason to not trust him.

"I will stand watch. You will not be disturbed."

Jecos walked out and locked the door behind him. Nuso sighed and turned to Narra.

"I'm sorry if I hurt you. I was simply...Overly passionate."

"Hurt me? You freed me. I was by no choice of my own Truth's personal servant. And I no longer need fear anything."

"Now that Jecos is around, huh?"

"Jecos is my brother. I'm more scared of him than any other."Narrajested with a light-hearted spring in her voice.

Nuso laughed hard at that. He let the humor slide off as he breathed hard.There was so much to ask, so much to know.He didn't know where to start.

"I can't begin to understand that having no siblings of my own. But I take your word for it."

"Then you can forgive me if I harmed you." Narra suddenly became grave, and she let her hand come near Nuso's mutilated mandible.

He pulled back a little, but relaxed and let her feel it.

"Did it hurt?"

"Immensely, after the shock wore off. But pain is something to live with or to be defeated by. I will not succumb to my own body."

"I can't imagine what that is like."

"Hmm?"

"To feel pain."

Nuso clicked two of his mandibles together in a confused manner.

"How is that? I bashed you into everything when we fought on the cruiser's bridge. It looked like it hurt."

"I don't feel pain. My nerves are dull from the replacement parts. They affect my nervous system.I can feel as any normal being could. But pain is something I can no longer grasp."

"That must be a gift."

"And a curse. But I know when a wound is damaging enough to mend without use. Jecos feels no pain either, only a little more than that.He literallyfeels 'nothing' at all. And, to further damage his pride, he is completely blind."

Nuso sat up a little straighter.

"He seemed to have been able to see just fine to me. Better than fine."

"His eyes are so cybernetically augmented they aren't eyes anymore. They are machines. He sees more than anyone. But how he despises it. It's not how he should be. If he could, he would gouge them out."

Nuso nodded. He knew what that felt like. Absent mindedly he undid one of the clasps holding the Honor Guard armor on his body. The underlying plates fell away, revealing the android attachments beneath. Narra looked at it for a moment and tilted her head. Her eyes bright with curiosity.

"What is that?"

"Just a weapon system. A tool for combat."

"Like this?" Narra said, holding up Jecos's shiv.

"So you did more than just hugged him didn't you?I thought I saw a pull. And yes, similer to a knife in some respects. If you understand things from a certain point of view."

Narra nodded as she spun the handle-less blade on her hand. Letting it slow before she grasped it again.

"He knows I took it. He's the one who taught me to have quick hands. He could take your clothes and you wouldn't notice. He's the best thief and assassin the Covenant has ever seen. And he's made use of his abilities."

"So I've seen."

Narra looked over to aview-port to see the side of a massive cruiser. Nuso followed her gaze and saw it too.

"The Black Arrow. Admiral Berkley's personal battleship. Looks like its time to dock. I'm sorry but our discussion must wait. We will have more time once on board."

"What's going to happen to use now?"

"I can tell you this. Over my dead body is any scientist going to try and take a look at you. Jecos would say the same. You just stick with me. I know my way around ships like this."

"Thank you. For all that you've done."

"Don't thank me just yet. But hold it; I might need an ego boost later."

Narra grinned. Nuso hit the unlock switch and passed through the doorway. Jecos was on the other side, polishing another knife. Only this one had a handle, and was wickedly serrated.

"Where do you get those?"

"Stash them; belts and such. We're docking with one of the human ships. I best think it would be time to disembark."

Jecos only glanced at the silver grafting on Nuso's body.

"Are those the updates you spoke of?Or are you testing some new style of fashion?"

Narra laughed softly. Nuso stood and took her hand to help her to her feet. Shestood and walked through the door.

"Just be careful in here. The majority of the compliment on board hates our kind. Make sure you don't do anything that might tick them off." Nuso said as helookingright atJecos.

"I can think of a few ways. But I shall keep such conversation to myself." Jecos said with a gleam in his eye.

"Thank you. Now if you'll excuse me, I'd prefer to put something comfortable on before we go on board the ship. Be back in a moment."

Nuso ducked back into the room and closed the door. After about five minutes he came out, wearing a black suit that was made of the same material as Jecos's, but of a different design.More styled to fit something his size, since he was well over a foot taller than Jecos was.

"Now I remember what these suits remind me of." Nuso said, tugging on one of the straps on his arm.

"What is that?"

"It makes me look like I'm wearing the uniform one of my old teachers would wear. But this is different. It's more like an underlining for armor. Extra protection maybe."

"It's a protective layer against extreme temperatures and kinetic damage. It's an effective counter to human projectile weapons."

"I doubt it would stop an anti-material SABOT round. But all the same I'd prefer MJOLNIR over anything this place has."

Jecos looked at Nuso with a strange look, then turned to Narra.

"We must be ready for anything. I trust no human."

"I only trust two. And they trust me. If the other is still around. Just let me handle Josh and Sam." Nuso said as he continued to pull at the cloth to get it to sit right.

"If those are their real names."

"Right."

Nuso nodded to Jecos and Narra and walked through the door. They followed a few feet behind and turned left down the corridor.

Down the right side, just around the corner in a dark passage, two bright red eyes followed them intently till they were out of sight. The eyes narrowed, then disappeared back into the dark hallway. After a few moments the lights reactivated and all was as it had been.All but four narrow,and ratherdeep cuts in the bulkhead.


	28. Many Secrets Part Two

_Alas, this is the last chapter of Dark Destiny. It should answer some questions. And now I am free to begin my work on my next project._

* * *

A dark form moved through the twisting halls of the small ship. Black mist-like wisps flowing out in its wake like the flows of an ethereal cape. Its hair was spiky and black, ending in red points that seemed to glow in contrast tothe dark shape. But its pale face was even more of a clash to its black appearance. Its eyes burned a bright red from behind the long strands of hair. Four black streaks ran parallel to each cheekbone with two more on each side of its chin. The markings giving its face a runic appearance. 

The figure, if it could be called such a thing, opened the door to a large room and practically floated in.

"Well?" An echo-like voice asked from within its dark interior.

"They know. Those idiots know we aren't human. We were foolish and overconfident and now we reap our stupidity."

The dark form who had entered the roomtook one step forward, the shadows falling off like some kind of robe. Standing there was Josh, his human features returned.

"That Jecos was trouble before I even took myhuman form. Always has been, always will be. Unless necessary action is taken, he will forever be a thorn in my side."

Another dark form wafted out from the inky shadows it had been hiding in. Like Josh, the shadows surrounding it simply fell away, revealing the slender form of Sam. Her yellow eyes quickly turning the dark brown of her human shape.

"What are you, scared?"

"You insult me."

"Come now 'Josh.'"

"Why must you call me that name? I thought we agreed that we would stop using those names in private. Or do you insist on insulting me?"

"Vesh, you must learn to lighten up. Just think. What has ever stood before our kind and succeeded? Name anything."

"The Forerunners."

"The Forerunners? Just because they had Rugan's help. Just because they constructed those machines doesn't mean they won."

"They wiped us out."

"Not all. You and I are still alive."

"We were hibernating. That's the only reason we lived. Rugan survived, but only because he hybridized our own technology with that of the Forerunner's. And through that he somehow kept himself alive. Maybe there are a few others, maybe not."

"Just think if the original plan had succeeded."

"And we had successfully reprogrammed them? A universe filled with just us. How boring."

"You only say that because you are a warrior." Sam said with an inhuman hiss.

"What does that make you, Shallah?"

"What I use to fulfill my own purposes is none of your concern."

"I can very well make it my concern."

Shallah stared right at Josh with a murderous glare. In a blur she raised a hand as black spikes emerged from her knuckles. Her arm swung down to strike at Vesh, but the blow never met its mark. Vesh caught her wrist and held it firm. Shallah looked at it in surprise.

"Never forget who's better." Vesh said with a low growl.

He slammed his open palm on her chest and, the force of the blowsending her careening into the wall.

"Never forget. Or I'll tear you apart, piece by piece."

"I haven't forgotten." Shallah said, wiping a streak of red blood from her lip. "It just slipped my mind."

"Once we get on board the human ship we will be able to move freely. But until then, and only then, we will be reminded of who is in charge here. Me. Once we are there, you are free to do as you wish until we deem fit to disembark. But only then. Do I make myself clear?"

Shallah nodded and pushed herself onto her feet. Vesh gave her one last hard stare before walking out of the door, leaving Shallah to lick her wounds.

* * *

"So what should we expect on a human vessel?" 

"For one, don't eat the green food. You'll puke your lungs out." Nuso said with a satisfied chuckle.

"That's not exactly what I meant."

"Then specify."

"I think what Narra meant was, what should we expect from the humans?" Jecosasked matter-of-factly.

"They're morons. But they know how to fight. Don't cross any of them and just keep your distance. Don't speak unless spoken to and try to look as non-threatening as possible."

"Is that possible for us?" Jecos asked, completely serious.

Narra snickered and Nuso shook his head. As they walked on, Jesse poked his head from around a corridor and stepped out, Nexus right behind him.

"Josh and Sam already boarded the Cruiser. They must have opened the airlock because the pressure's acted up a tad. Nexus here says we should follow them. Isn't he your little genius?"

"Jesse, he's a foot taller than you."

"So? He's exactly like you. And by the way, when did you get a foot taller than me?"

"I dunno, since about three months ago. Maybe you should get your eyes checked."

"Enough chit-chat, we need to go ahead and go. The goggles are probably dying to get a hold of anything on board." Jesse said as he began the short walk back towards the airlock.

"The goggles?" Jecos asked

"Engineers that study and catalogue any new toys anybody brings in. They wear welding goggles all the time. The name fits."

As they made their way along, Nuso sniffed the air. The familiar scent of a human vessel was slowly wafting through the air. And it was most heartily welcomed. Humans were not his kind, but it was his place that he worked with them.

As he stepped onto the hard titanium floor of the cruiser, two things stood out. One, the fact that the ship wasn't spinning, but there was gravity. And two, there was a strangely familiar scent hidden within the thousands of others. It was so familiar, but Nuso couldn't quite remember when he had ever come in contact with something with that scent.

"Hey, you okay?" Jesse said as he nudged Nuso.

"Yeah. I'm fine."

"Been a while since you've been back on board good ole fashion bolt and bulkhead. Get reacquainted. I'll see about getting myself a uniform. And somewhere to upload this into." Jesse said, holding up an AI chip.

"Is that what I think it is?"

"You think I'd lose Aaron just like that?"

"Oh boy. He's going to be pissed when you let him out."

"He's always pissed."

"True. I have a few things to see to. Go make a royal nuisance of yourself."

"That's all we Spartans are really good at, isn't it?"

"Better believe it."

Jesse made his way down a corridor as Nuso led Jecos and Narrathrough another.

"What are we going to do now?" Narra asked.

"You'll be interrogated, but trust me when I say that you won't be forced to reveal any information you don't wish to. I only wish I had had the same luxury."

"What do you mean?"

Nuso looked at them and parted his mandibles in a grin.

"Not all of these scars are from battle. A large number are from my own interrogation. And as I am aware, Jecos has a present for us.

Jecos looked at Nuso and smiled. He put his hand on a side pocket and felt it. His eyes suddenly became very wide, and then narrowed.

"Narra…"

"What?"

"What do you mean what? _Give it back_!"

"_I didn't take anything_!"

Jecos looked confused for a moment, and then looked at Nuso. Nuso flipped the crystal up from his palm and caught it.

"Just checking to see if you were paying attention. I'll take it since I'll be meeting with the Admiral anyway. You two head down this hallway and take a left. Go through the white-yellow-blue coded door. Stay there until I come back. Let no one in. Jesse and I are the only ones with the code. Well, unless there are other Spartans on board. It's our personal area. I can't tell you the specifics since its pretty high up on the need-to-know lists. Keep your heads down."

"We'll do that."

Jecos and Narra turned and walked swiftly around the corner and disappeared. Nuso immediately started off down the hall and towards the forward sections. Through the familiar halls of the ship and finally reaching the more populated sections. The spec-ops team had followed him the entire way. The team that had made sure that no trouble had come from his boarding. And the truth of why the boarding dock was so vacant.

"You guys can chill. I have no intention of doing anything that might invoke a court-marshal on my part."

A single grey clad soldier stepped into view, the S2 sniper rifle resting on his shoulder swaying slightly. He gave a slight nod then made a quick hand motion. His team all came out and dispersed. The leader walked up to Nuso and smirked.

"We were done anyway. You have a new escort. Just don't go causing us grief. We don't take kindly to it."

"New escort?"

A heavy clanking sound came from behind him, and Nuso turned to see a Spartan standing about ten feet from him.

"Ah."

"Have fun."

The marines quickly walked out of view, and the Spartan took a few steps closer.

"And who might you be?" Nuso asked.

The Spartan just looked at him from behind the mirrored gold faceplate. Nuso could immediately tell it was of Field Commander status. It was cool and calculated. The most lethal kind.

"My name doesn't matter." It said in a gravelly voice.

"Then you have a ID number."

"One-one-seven."

* * *

Vesh looked out of a window at the stars. His shadowytrail flowing out behind him as if lifted on some unfelt wind. 

"Can you guarantee that Captain?" He asked in his sharp, eerie voice.

"You'll be able to travel the ship without scrutiny. Just don't go wandering in that state. I'm surprised you haven't torn that poor boy's body to ribbons."

"My host is none of your concern. What your true concern is whether or not I choose to take a new one. I rather enjoy the feeling a human body has. But I can always choose something older. A boy is hard to use without drawing attention."

"We have an agreement."

"Yes we do. And I will hold to it till I feel as necessary to terminate said agreement. You humans are of no concern of mine. Tools to be used for purposes that are beyond your comprehension."

"If you're so superior to use, why do you use us in the way you do?"

"I have no true body of my own. To interact I require a mediator."

"Just like the Flood."

"I am nothing like that. Though it is true that the Flood are simply products of our own genetic structure. We augmented the final appearance slightly to more fit our needs. We are so much more."

"All talk. I need definite proof that you can follow through with what you said."

"I have no need to bind my word to you, Captain. But it is the one we'll be trusting."

"I should never have agreed to anything."

"But you did. And now you are in the thick of it." Vesh chuckled slightly, the hollow sound of his laughter made shivers go down the Captain's spine.

"What about Shallah?"

"What about her? She is a fool who knows nothing. Once I have fulfilled my use for her, I will dispose of the baggage she is. And I'll finally be able to work in relative peace."

"Are you just messing with me again? You have a knack for twisting stuff and making people belief things."

"It is the root of our abilities. Deception. But you knew that."

"Yes. So how will you get rid of her?"

"In whatever way I deem appropriate."

"You have a sick mind Vesh. That could be anything."

"I know."

* * *

Two sparkling eyes continued to watch the conversation from above. The thick plating of the ceiling offered no resistance to eavesdropping. Nexus pulled back slightly and tapped his forehead. 

"So he's enlisted a human. That's news for you. And that was Shallah?... Things are falling into place."

Nexus pulled himself up and back into the hallway from the storage locker he had ducked into. He thought for a moment. He didn't have the faintest clue what Vesh could be up to. His old rival always did have a flair for mysterious conspiracies. But Shallah had teamed up with him? That was more of a surprise then ever.

"Best that I start making preparations of my own."

Nexus turned and walked down the empty hall. Slowly, but ever surely black wisps of mist began to flow around his shoulders and off his back. And as he rounded the corner, he looked at the ground.

"And so it begins."

* * *

_Thank you for reading Dark Destiny. I have made this Fanfiction in commemoration for my love of the Sangheili race and my own insanity. I must now move on to the next chapter of my saga. The next step of the Covenant War, and the uprising of newer, more lethal enemies. Questions will be answered, and twists will be, um, TWISTED! Again I thank you for your support readers. You guys are awesome._

_Signed - JettMann_


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